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Atlanta United 2 Signs Kaiden Moore, an Academy Defender
Kaiden Moore, an Academy defender, has signed with Atlanta United 2 through the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season, the team announced today. With effect from January 1, 2026, Moore will be the 22nd Homegrown signing for Atlanta. “Kaiden is yet another great example of the club’s player development pathway and the strong link between the Academy and our First Team that...
USA advances to the Concacaf U-20 Championship quarterfinals after defeating Cuba 4-0
Before halftime, two goals propelled the U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team to a 4-0win against Cuba on Monday at Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés. With the victory, the USA secured a position in the Concacaf U-20 Championship quarterfinals for 2024. It will now compete against Costa Rica on Thursday to secure the top spot in Group A....
Atlanta United 2 loses to Crown Legacy FC 2-1
On Sunday night, Atlanta United 2 lost 2-1 away to Crown Legacy FC at Sportsplex in Matthews. Rodrigo Neri made his professional debut while Nick Firmino scored Atlanta’s lone goal. Atlanta started the game with a lot of attacking activity. Dominik Chong Qui, an Academy defender, won a midfield duel in the eighth minute by passing the ball to Javier Armas as the latter was sprinting into the box. Despite Chong Qui’s ability to curtail his shot away from goal, the move was ultimately ruled offside. Firmino set up Erik Centeno on the right side to loft a cross into the middle of the box, giving Firmino a chance to score shortly after in the 14th minute, but the keeper denied him. After striker Brandon Cambridge carried the ball down the touchline past two Atlanta defenders and then got off a cross to the back post that Dylan Sing finished off to take a 1-0 lead, Crown Legacy opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Centeno won the ball on the right side and tried to slide a pass into the box for Neri in the second half, but the goalie stopped him and kicked the ball away. Ethan Dudley attempted to clear a pass that Jahlane Forbes had fired into the box in the 66th minute, but he clashed with Cambridge and gave away a penalty. Cambridge moved to the penalty spot, going up the center to convert it. In the 74th minute, Firmino gave ATL UTD 2 a response. Cooper Sanchez, an academy product, saw the Brazilian sprinting towards the box and flipping the ball over the top of Crown Legacy’s defense as Firmino shoved a defender off his line. The offensive midfielder received the ball in the box, cut inside to take on a second defender, and rifled a left-footed shot that found its way into the net.
MLS NEXT All-Star Games and Special Olympics Unified
Individuals with intellectual disabilities (Special Olympic athletes) and those without (Unified partners) make up the Unified Sports East and West All-Star soccer teams. adidas will supply the Unified All-Stars with bespoke kits for their 11 vs. 11 competitive match, which will be coached by MLS Greats. Kelly Robinson and Emma Sim have been chosen by Atlanta United to play for the team in the Unified All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio, this season. Kelly has been a member of the Unified Team for the past two years. She has played soccer for 15 years, or nearly her entire life. After graduating from Johns Creek High School in 2021, she went on to pursue a variety of interests outside of soccer, including basketball, art, movies, and 5K running. Emma Sim has been a member of the Unified Team for five seasons, having started when she was three years old. She plays for the Southern Soccer Academy and the varsity team at Campbell High School. Emma enjoys performing a cartwheel with teammate Grace Chaplin before every soccer match, as part of her pregame rituals. She also wears a pink hair tie.
At age 14, Cavan Sullivan debuts in Major League Soccer, setting a new record
At the age of 14 years and 293 days, Philadelphia Union homegrown midfielder Cavan Sullivan made his major league debut on Wednesday night, making history as the youngest player to do so for a North American major league sports team. The previous record holder, Freddy Adu, who made his debut for D.C. at the age of 14 years and 306 days, is surpassed by Sullivan’s historic appearance. unified on April 3, 2004. Sullivan made his official Major League Soccer debut on Wednesday against the New England Revolution, coming off the bench in the 85th minute with Philadelphia ahead. After that, the Union defeated the Revolution 5-1, with a goal from Quinn Sullivan, his older brother.
U-20 USMYNT destroys Jamaica 9-0 to start the Concacaf U-20 Championship
The U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team defeated Jamaica 9-0 in their opening Group A game at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship thanks to their impressive play. David Vazquez, a midfielder, scored the first goal of the match almost immediately and added a brace two minutes later. Pedro Soma, a teammate, also scored twice, with his goals coming in the 16th and 20th minutes. After leading Group A after the first night of competition, the United States will play Cuba on Monday, July 22 at 10:06 p.m. ET on FS2, TUDN, and ViX. The United States jumped right on board. The Jamaican defense attempted a pass back, but it failed, and the ball ended up loose in the attacking zone. Ruben Ramos Jr., a midfielder, raced to the ball, dribbled into the box, and then crossed the ball. After David Vazquez received the pass, he scored the game’s opening goal to give the USA a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, a Jamaican turnover created an opportunity for the USA. In the third minute, Vazquez doubled the lead by dribbling the ball to the top of the 18-yard box’s half circle and then shooting a long-range shot past the diving goalie. Vazquez contributed his first assist of the game in the 16th minute, on the opening corner kick of the game for the USA. His cross into the box was intercepted by a leaping Pedro Soma, who headed the corner into the net to put the United States up 3-0. After four minutes, Soma also got a brace. Defender Luca Bombino booted a cross into the penalty area in the 20th minute. The lead was increased to four goals when forward Marcos Zambrano headed the ball back toward the top of the box to a waiting Soma, who calmly slid a shot inside the far left post. In the first half, USA would score another goal. Cruz Medina dribbled the ball along the right flank in the 39th minute. In the second half, the United States scored goals quickly. Zavier Gozo, the halftime substitute, outwitted his opponent and almost lost balance before passing to Zambrano on his left, who scored with ease to make it 6-0. Gozo led another effort into the box in the 67th minute, setting up a sly backheel for colleague Taha Habroune, who attempted to connect Zambrano with a pass to the far-right post. The Jamaican defense headed the ball up and toward the top of the box, but it dropped to Ruben Ramos Jr., who missed his opportunity to give the USA their eighth strike of the game.
Stian Gregersen’s first professional brace secures his place on the MLS Team of the Matchday
The play performed precisely as they had envisioned. Saba Lobjanidze’s corner kick soared into the box. Stian Gregersen scored with his header. After Columbus Crew scored the game’s opening goal in the first half, Gregersen’s goal in the 60th minute marked his first in Major League Soccer and tied the score on July 20. Because Atlanta United ran the set piece play so well, it was called back. It was successful. Once more. To complete his brace, Gregersen missed a header in the 76th minute on a corner kick from Lobjanidze. Against the Eastern Conference’s third-place squad at the moment, Atlanta United secured three points with two goals that were almost identical. The 29-year-old center defender, who spent eight years playing professionally in Europe before joining Atlanta United this past offseason, was wearing his first brace in his professional career. Additionally, MLS acknowledged Gregersen’s achievement by including him to the Sunday afternoon’s MLS Team of the Matchday announcement. “I feel it was a team goal,” Gregersen said about scoring on a set piece. “Jay [Fortune] had amazing blocks for...
Atlanta United overcomes defending champion Columbus thanks to a brace from Stian Gregersen
Stian Gregersen, the center back, choose Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to be his first professional two-goal game. In the second half, Atlanta United shocked the reigning MLS Cup winner Columbus Crew with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory, which included the first goal he had ever scored for the team. Atlanta United’s victory comes at the conclusion of back-to-back home games. With the outcome on Saturday, the team concludes its two-game home stand with four points before the League Cup break. Earlier this week, Atlanta United and New York City FC battled to a draw. “I think they could feel the moment,” said interim head coach Rob Valentino in his post-match press conference. “They dug in and they did...
Caleb Wiley is transferred from Atlanta United to Chelsea Football Club
With an unknown transfer fee, Atlanta United announced today that it has moved defender Caleb Wiley to Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League. “Caleb epitomizes the pathway that we envisioned when we started this club,” Vice President and Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra said. “Born and raised in...
Youth and College Players in the United States Receiving International Call-Ups in July 2024
Monthly lists of players getting called up for teams outside of the US are provided by Atlanta Soccer News as part of our coverage of...