photo: Nigel Worrall

Team                1 2 Final
Orlando City U23s   1 2 3
Ocala Stampede      0 1 1

Scoring Summary:
ORL- Romario Williams (Paul Clowes) 6’
ORL – Romario Williams (Unassisted) 65’
ORL – Noah Franke (Unassisted) 70’
OCA – Paco Craig (Lewis Hilton) 90’

Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC- G Tomas Gomez, D Eirik Bjoernoe, Skyler Russell, Diogo Quirino, Okwuono Boyd, M Andrew Brody, Noah Franke (Javier Clavijo 86’), Romillo Hernandez, Paul Clowes, F Romario Williams (Lucas Diniz 85’), Tosan Popo (Daniel Johnson 79’)

Ocala Stampede- G Lex Craggs, D Samuel Duinink, Ben Knight, Liam Gourlay, Paco Craig, M Stephen Walmsley (Tamunosaki Jack 83’), Alex Clay, Lewis Hilton, Jack Bailey (Gabriel Zapponi 71’), Karamba Janneh (Freddy Ruiz 79’), Ilija Ilic

Penalty Summary:
ORL - Paul Clowes (Yellow Card) 48’

Match Facts:
Time of Match: 7:30 p.m. EST
Weather: -- Clear

Romario Williams Leads U23s to Victory

Lions defeat Ocala Stampede 3-1 in Season Opener

Sanford, Fla. – Orlando City U23s defeated the Ocala Stampede on Wednesday evening 3-1 in its Premier Development League (PDL) season opener behind a pair of goals from Forward Romario Williams.

The Lions were active early and often inside Ocala’s penalty area as soon as the game kicked off. Williams, the local collegiate striker from nearby college UCF made a move to skip past a Stampede defender to get into the area before firing off a shot that went just wide of the target.

Nearly three minutes after his first attempt, Williams would record the U23s first goal of the 2014 PDL campaign in the 6th minute of the match. The Jamaican striker settled a pass from Midfielder Paul Clowes just outside of the opposing team’s box, as he proceeded to chip Ocala’s Goalkeeper Lex Craggs to give the Lions and early lead.

City would keep the pressure on Craggs, forcing the goalkeeper to remain honest, but Clowes and Midfielder Andrew Brody could not connect on their opportunities allowing Ocala to counter.

In the 17th minute, Ocala Midfielder Alex Clay got involved in the Stampede’s attack. After receiving a long pass into the box, Clay flicked the ball over an Orlando defender and attempted to chip ‘keeper Tomas Gomez, but his shot bounced off the crossbar and out of play.

Moments later, Clay deflected a cross off Defender Diogo Quirino for a corner kick, leading to a dangerous header on the ensuing set-piece from Forward Jack Bailey. Fortunately for City, Gomez was in a good position to punch his header away.

Halfway through the first half, Defender Okwuono Boyd was whistled for a foul after pulling down an opposing striker in the penalty area. Clay would step up to the spot and aim for the bottom left corner but Gomez guessed the right way, making a spectacular save.

Romario Williams continued to show off his offensive prowess in the 65th minute when he found the back of the net for the second time on the night. Williams used his pace to dribble through the Ocala defense and into the 18-yard box, before rounding Craggs and slotting it into the net.

Five minutes later, the Lions would again add to their score-line via Midfielder Noah Franke.. Williams again found his way into the penalty area before firing a shot that deflected to the other side of the box right to the Creighton signee. Franke then blasted a low driven shot into the bottom corner.

As the clock continued to wind down, both teams made substitutions as the Stampede tried to crawl back into the PDL season opener. Eventually Ocala would get onto the scoreboard in stoppage time when Midfielder Lewis Holton sent a cross from a free kick towards the back post where Defender Paco Craig was waiting to head it past the Georgetown ‘keeper.

Up next, the U23s will be on the road for a three game road trip and their first stop will be in Naples, Fla. to take on the Southwest Florida Adrenaline on Saturday, May 24 at 6:00 p.m.