Team                           1 2 Final
Orlando City U23s              4 1 5
Southwest Florida Adrenaline   0 0 0

Scoring Summary:
ORL: Tyler Blackwood (Nicolas Russo) 3’
ORL: Tyler Blackwood (Nicolas Russo) 5’
ORL: Nicolas Russo (Michael Millay) 8’
ORL: Paul Clowes (unassisted) 23’
ORL: Tyler Blackwood (unassisted) 78’

Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City U23s- Tomas Gomez, Michael Millay, Kyle Fisher, Andrew Clare, Tom Skelly, Paul Clowes, Itode Fubara, Derek McCaffrey, Nicolas Russo, Daniel Barboto, Tyler Blackwoods

Southwest Florida Adrenaline- Manny Schonhuber, Heitor Pinotti, Seamus Sharkey, Jason Wellington, David Butzke, Quade Marinell, Lewis Hilton, Josh Butzke, Scott McCoubrey, Skylar Wilks, David Antunez

Match Facts:
Time of Match: 6:00 p.m. EST
Weather: -- Clear

Orlando City U23s Take Emphatic Win Over Southwest Florida Adrenaline
Lions defeat Adrenaline 5-0, Striker Tyler Blackwood notches a hat-trick

NAPLES, Fla.— The Orlando City U23s defeated Southwest Florida Adrenaline 5-0 on Saturday night, at Barron Collier High School in Naples, Fla. Striker Tyler Blackwood recorded his first hat-trick of the season, making him the top goal scorer in the Premier Development League (PDL), and propelled the young Lions to a four-goal advantage in the first half.

After losing their last two matches, the U23s ventured into Naples with an aggressive mind-set and displayed that conviction in the opening minutes of the match. In the 3rd minute of play, Midfielder and team captain Nicolas Russo collected the ball from the defense and played Blackwood in behind the Adrenaline bac kline -with a carefully crafted through ball. Blackwood received the ball well and rounded the charging Goalkeeper Manny Schonhuber, before calmly slotting the ball away to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

Moments later, Russo and Blackwood would connect once again in the 5th minute when the midfielder found the English striker inside the 18-yard box. Blackwood tucked the ball home and gave the U23s an astonishing two goal advantage through the first five minutes of the match.
The branded Orlando City style of play caused multiple problems for Southwest Adrenaline and would produce a third goal in the 8th minute of play.

Defender and University of Cincinnati product Michael Millay cruised past two Adrenaline defenders, and played a through ball inside the area for Russo- who rifled the ball into the back of the net. Throughout the first half, the Lions continued to control the tempo of the match and would add one more goal to their tally before the referee blew the half-time whistle. In the 23rd minute, U23s Midfielder and former Manchester City youth player Paul Clowes blasted a shot from distance, which ricocheted off of the post and into the back of the net.

Despite the Lions’ impressive attacking play through the first 45, Goalkeeper Tomas Gomez was equally remarkable as the Georgetown product made numerous acrobatic saves to prevent the Adrenaline from getting on the board.

The second half began with the U23s dominating time on the ball and the young Lions displayed Heath’s prominent system- as the ball moved around the pitch effectively and dangerously. In the 60th minute of play, Millay skipped past the Adrenaline defense near the touchline and floated a ball to Russo on the back post. Russo nodded a powerful header on target, but Schonhuber coordinated a finger-tip save to prevent the Argentinian-American from scoring his second goal of the match.

Regardless of the four-goal advantage, the Lions were relentless in their attacks and showed a hunger to score more goals. In the 78th minute, Blackwood notched his first hat-trick of the season after being dragged down in the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Blackwood stepped up and slotted the ball home, causing Schonhuber to guess the wrong way. Blackwood’s hat-trick gives the striker six goals on the season, which is tied for first in the nation.

The U23s (2-2-1, 8 points) will now travel to face the Mississippi Brilla (2-1-0, 6 points) on June 8 at Clinton High School, before returning home to take on the Ocala Stampede on June 14. Kick-off for the match against the Brilla is set for 8:00 p.m.