MUFC Draw La Liga's Granada CF Academy

On October 19, MUFC made their way to the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to play La Liga side Granada CF’s U18 Academy. The players were eager to get a good result and proved so stepping out of the team bus after the 2 hour trip with a no nonsense pep in their step. This helped the 21-man squad perform against 5^th place team in the Division de Honor Juvenile, which is the top academy league in Spain.     Granada opened up the score in the 35^th minute off a corner, which was a tough goal to concede considering possession was even as both sides used strategic methods of play to their advantage. Granada pushed numbers forward, keeping possession within our half until MUFC’s 1^st eleven stole the ball and used quick passing and counterattacks to remain competitive. Standout performances came from Kyo Adachi (San Diego, Ca), Nate Kilpatrick (Jacksonville, Fl), Adrian Velasquez (Dallas, Tx), Tommy Buono (Winchester Va) Jackson Patillo (Missouri), And Ayo Pigott (San Francisco, Ca)The second half gave opportunity to many of our younger players as MUFC retained majority of the possession. 16-year-old Jacob Chakroun from Atlanta Georgia remained effective in the midfield next to guest player Mateo Hincapie from 3^rd division Colombian club Antioquia FC. MUFC were able to tie the match in the 70^th minute as Gustavo Chavez from Irvine California intercepted a flared pass from Granada CF’s midfield and used quick skill to beat the right back and continue down the sideline where he slid a perfect ball into the box where Elijah Mwenebitu (Denver, Co) was able to slot the ball into the back of the net. Overall, the second half had a great team performance. Key players were Gustavo Chavez, Elijah Mwenebitu, Jacob Chakroun, Gio Alcocer (Guadalajara Mx), Gordon Bradley (Haymarket, Va), Daniel Grek (Miami,Fl), Nolan Jimmo (Vermont), Cristian Navarro (Dallas, Tx), and 15 year old Alex Eristavi from Atlanta Georgia