FRISCO, Texas (Tuesday, April 22) – FC Dallas Reserves (3-1-0) dropped a 3-2 decision to USL PRO side Orlando City SC tonight at Toyota Stadium.
FC Dallas center back Walker Zimmerman intercepted a pass in the eighth minute and started an odd-man rush. The second-year product of Furman University drew one of two Orlando City SC defenders before dishing to Andrew Jacobson. Jacobson struck a hard shot towards goal but had it cut out at the last minute by Orlando City SC goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo.
Orlando countered quickly in the 11th minute, when forward Dennis Chin tracked down a pass played over the top of FC Dallas Reserves’ back line. Chin cut around FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez and tried to put a shot on frame, but FC Dallas defender Ryan Hollingshead arrived in time to pressure Chin into pushing his shot just wide of the right post.
Orlando City SC began to control the tempo of the match and capitalized in the 17th minute when Adama Mbengue grabbed a loose ball at the top of FC Dallas’ 18-yard box, faked a shot to freeze a pair of defenders and struck a hard shot that Fernandez got a piece of, but could not steer wide of the post. It was the first goal of the season conceded by the FC Dallas Reserves, ending a shutout streak of 382 minutes
FC Dallas looked to equalize in the 33rd minute when Tesho Akindele and Hollingshead combined to create a scoring chance at the top of the six-yard box. Akindele’s return pass put Hollingshead in alone against Gallardo but Orlando City SC defender Brad Rusin hurried the FC Dallas left back’s attempt. The pressure allowed Gallardo to get across the goal line and push the chance wide of the post and out for a corner kick.
Orlando City SC extended its lead in the 47th minute when Mbengue fired a shot from inside the area. The shot was blocked back to the feet of Mbengue, who once again cut around a pair of defenders before knocking a low ball in to the feet of Fernandez. Orlando forward Kevin Molino got to the ball at the same time as Fernandez and managed to poke a shot past the goalkeeper to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
FC Dallas Reserves pulled one back in the 62nd minute when Hollingshead blew by his defender on the left flank and made a sliding centering pass to FC Dallas Academy player Diego De La Tejera at the top of the six-yard box. The youngster showed his confidence, burying a shot high over the shoulder of Gallardo to make the score, 2-1.
Orlando came right back and renewed its two-goal lead in the 64th minute when Mbengue tackled the ball away from an FC Dallas player in midfield. The ball fell to the feet of Darwin Ceren, who put Molino in on goal with a sharp through ball. Molino used his speed to go around Fernandez and deposited the ball in the back of the net to make it 3-1.
FC Dallas made it a 3-2 match just before the final whistle when Aaron Meyer lobbed a ball to the top of the area from a free kick near midfield. Zimmerman was there to win the header, out-jumping his defender and snapping a header into the side-netting.
Scoring Summary:
ORL – Adama Mbengue 17
ORL – Kevin Molino (Adama Mbengue) 47
DAL – Diego De La Tejera (Ryan Hollingshead) 62
ORL – Kevin Molino (Darwin Ceren) 64
DAL – Walker Zimmerman (Aaron Meyer) 90
FC Dallas – Raul Fernandez, Ryan Hollingshead, Nicholas Walker (Aaron Meyer 46), Walker Zimmerman, Zach Loyd (Kris Reeves 78), Victor Ulloa, Adam Moffat (Shaquelle Moore 76), Andrew Jacobson, Tesho Akindele, David Texeira (Diego De La Tejera 46), Jonathan Top (Santiago Agudelo 80).
Substitutes Not Used: Jesse Gonzalez, Richard Sanchez.
Orlando City SC – Miguel Gallardo, Tyler Turner, Brad Rusin, Luke Boden, Rob Valentino (Justin Clark 36), Adama Mbengue, Yordany Alvarez, Darwin Ceren (Mikey Lopez 80), Kevin Molino, Dennis Chin (Corey Hertzog 76), Cobi Span (Anthony Pulis 68).
Substitutes Not Used: Carl Woszczynski, Aohdan Quinn, James O’Connor.
Misconduct Summary:
DAL – Aaron Meyer (caution) 73
ORL – Like Boden (caution) 83
Referee: Chris Mercado
Referee’s Assistants: Ian Chapman, Jeff Greeson
4th Official: Joel McKell
Attendance: 375
Weather: Sunny, 79 degrees
