Overview:
Last week, SIA Academy organized another friendly match at its facilities, this time against IDA soccer academy in Valencia. SIA Academy put out a team based on their international cadets and youth players. The first half began with SIA Academy taking the lead in the first 30 minutes of play and maintaining their dominance until the end. The second half was much more balanced: SIA Academy had fewer scoring chances but continued to cause problems in the opponent’s midfield and put pressure on their backline.
Intro:
The match between SIA Academy and IDA’s U19 teams started off with both sides fighting for possession. SIA Academy gained momentum early due to a few strong tackles realized in the defensive line and an efficient job by the midfield in closing the opponents passing lanes making it hard for them to play the ball from their back half. Although they were putting the opposition under pressure there was still some difficulty getting shots off on the enemy goal. Around the 27th minute SIA Academy gets a break on goal that ends in a corner kick. With this corner kick they were able to score the first goal.
The IDA team sought to equalize in the remainder of the game but had only one chance at the end of the first half in which the goalkeeper made an excellent save to end the attack unscathed.
The second half began with great pressure from IDA, which caused a big fight in the center of the field making it difficult to reach the opposing areas. The pressure paid off and IDA managed to tie the game and in a moment of confusion went ahead on the scoreboard.
SIA Academy refreshed and reinforced the team with several strategic changes and began to win the ball procession and create more attacking plays. A few minutes later, in a great counterattack, SIA Academy managed to tie the match. From that moment on, the game opened up and both teams continued to attack back and forth. Unfortunately, in the last minute of play, a tackle in the box resulted in a penalty kick that sealed the game.
MVP:
Hollins E. earned the first MVP spot for SIA Academy’s squad after his performance as a left wing during the entirety of the first half. While he was on the field, he played a crucial role in shutting down the opponents passing lanes, provided constant attacking options and did performed extremely well in all his one on one challenges. The second MVP spot for SIA Academy’s squad went to Dallen S., who played an incredible striker role for the majority of the game and was the one behind SIA Academy’s game tying goal.
