DALLAS CUP: FC Dallas U-18s Exact Revenge on Defending-Champion Everton Side that Eliminated Them in 2016

DALLAS - They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and an arctic blast rolled through the Cotton Bowl on Sunday afternoon. 

After being knocked out of the Dallas Cup Semifinal last year by eventual-champion Everton and watching the Premier League Academy side celebrate on their own field at Toyota Stadium, the FC Dallas U-18s were out to send a message in the 2017 tournament opening re-match. 

They did just that with a dismantling 5-0 win over the Gordon Jago Super Group defending champions. 

"[Head coach Francisco] Molina even said before the game, 'If you ever feel like giving up, remember how they celebrated on our field last year.' It was heartbreaking because we knew we deserved that game," said defender Reggie Cannon, who was a member of last year's U-18 squad that came within one game of the Final. "It was great to come out here and do what we do best with that vengeance from last year."

From the opening whistle, FCD dominated the match with a trio of Homegrown signings bolstering the lineup. Cannon, forward Jesus Ferreira and midfielder Paxton Pomykal all returned to their roots for the week, and their presence was unquestionably felt. 

Ferreira notched a goal and two assists in a dominating performance, Pomykal tucked a shot late in the first half just inside the far side post and Cannon was a constant overlapping threat down the right side from his outside back position.

Their performances were matched by some of the stars of the U-18 roster as well. Shaft Brewer enjoyed one of his best performances since joining the Academy this season with a goal and assisting both of the Homegrown goals, Brandon Terwege was an equal threat down the opposite wing from his position at left back and Aldo Quevedo single-handedly forced a defensive turnover in the second half and buried his ensuing point-blank opportunity. 

 "We just wanted to come out here and start out strong and have a good foundation for the rest of the tournament," team captain Terwege said after the match. "We wanted to start off strong, but at the same time we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. We still have two games left and depending on the next few games, how we did in this game could not matter."

As the oldest Dallas Academy team heads into those next two matches, the biggest positive from Sunday was just how seamlessly the three professionals meshed back into a roster they haven't practiced with over the last few months. 

 "We had an awesome game, worked for each other and played our hearts out," Pomykal said. "We came from the Academy, so it's a pretty easy adjustment to switch and play exactly like we used to play. It's not anything new for us because we've been there and played with them."

"It's easy, they play the same as the pros, we have kind of the same style so it wasn't hard to acclimate in with them, it's just how we work together," Ferreira added. "It's always great to be playing the sport we love, and to do it with my brothers is amazing."

The 18s will return to action on Monday night as they face Liga MX's C.F. Monterrey U-19s at 6:00 at MoneyGram Soccer Park. 

Lineup

(4-2-3-1): Carlos Mercado; Brandon Terwege (Arturo Rodriguez - 77'), Brecc Evans, Mark Salas, Reggie Cannon (Jacob Goyen - 79'); Adrian Ramos (Cole Guindon - 79'), Brandon Servania; Aldo Quevedo, Paxton Pomykal (Benji Granillo - 72'), Shaft Brewer; Jesus Ferreira (Blake Willis - 74')

Scoring Summary

FCD: Shaft Brewer (Jesus Ferreira) - 17'
FCD: Paxton Pomykal (Shaft Brewer) - 36'
FCD: Brecc Evans (Jesus Ferreira) - 56'
FCD: Aldo Quevedo - 63'
FCD: Jesus Ferreira (Shaft Brewer) - 66'