Atlanta United 2 earned its first win of the season 1-0 against OKC Energy FC Saturday night at Taft Stadium. Phillip Goodrum scored his first goal of the year, four players made their ATL UTD 2 debuts and goalkeeper Rocco RÃos Novo picked up his first clean sheet for the team.
ATL UTD 2 controlled the match from the outset and consistently pressured OKC’s defense, pouring in 11 crosses in the first half while out-shooting Energy FC 7-3. In the 35th minute, Bradley Kamdem Fewo sent in a cross from left side that skipped through to the back post where Goodrum made a sliding attempt, but it was cleared away by Robert Coronado at the last moment. Seven minutes later, it was Goodrum who played a ball from the left wing aimed at the back post, and this time it met the boot of Aiden McFadden, but his attempt missed wide right.
Energy FC came out strong in the second half and nearly took the lead in the 48th minute from a set piece. Coronado sent in a cross from the right wing and Conor Donovan was able to head the ball on frame from inside the six-yard box, but RÃos Novo was positioned well to make the save.
Atlanta took the lead in the 62nd minute. OKC attempted to clear a ball out of its own penalty area, but Brendan Lambe collected it at the top of the box and headed a pass to Will Reilly. The 18-year-old quickly played Goodrum into the 18 who made a run behind a disjointed Energy FC backline where he easily finished with a shot to the bottom right corner for his first goal of the year.
OKC took 10 of its 13 shots in the second half to try and find a breakthrough goal, but its best opportunity came in the 83rd minute. Tucker Stephenson delivered a corner kick into the middle of the box where Donovan headed the ball on goal, but RÃos Novo came up with another huge save when he pushed the shot off the crossbar to preserve the shutout.
ATL UTD 2 returns to Oklahoma for its next match on Sunday, May 16 against OKC Energy at Taft Stadium (ESPN+, 6:00 p.m. ET).
MATCH INFO
Atlanta 1, OKC Energy FC 0
Taft Stadium
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
STATS
Shots: 13-8 OKC
Shots on Target: 3-2 OKC
Corner kicks: 6-1 OKC
Fouls committed: 17-14 Atlanta
Offside: 6-2 Atlanta
Possession: 60-40 Atlanta
Passing Accuracy: 83-71 Atlanta
SCORING SUMMARY
ATL – Phillip Goodrum (Will Reilly) 62’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
ATL – Brendan Lambe (yellow) 90’
ATL UTD 2 STARTING LINEUP
Rocco Rios Novo; Mikey Ambrose, Ronald Hernández (Brendan Lambe – 45’), Alex De John, George Campbell; Chris Allan, Tyler Wolff (Coleman Gannon – 45’), Matheus Rossetto (William Reilly – 45’); Phillip Goodrum, Aiden McFadden, Bradley Kamdem Fewo © (Josh Bauer – 85’).
Substitutes not used: Darwin Matheus, Vicente Reyes.
OKC ENERGY FC STARTING LINEUP
C.J. Cochran; Mitchell Osmond, Conor Donovan ©, Muengnenshime Goshit, Robert Coronado; Villyan Bijev, Arun Basuljevic, Hiroki Kurimoto, Aidan Daniels (Brad Dunwell – 76’), Kodai Iida (Tucker Stephenson – 63’); Jonathan Brown (Samuel Rogers – 89’).
Substitutes not used: Sam Howard, Kyle Ihn, Groutchov Pierre.
OFFICIALS
Brandon Stevis (referee), Nicholas Balcer, (assistant), Truman Berghall, (assistant), James Norris (fourth).
TEAM NOTES
- Phillip Goodrum scored his first goal of the season and the third of his career
- Will Reilly recorded his first professional assist
- Rocco RÃos Novo recorded his first clean sheet in USL Championship play
- Matheus Rossetto, Alex De John, Ronald Hernandez and Rocco RÃos Novo each made their ATL UTD 2 debuts
ABOUT ATL UTD 2
ATL UTD 2 is owned and operated by AMB Sports & Entertainment and is the United Soccer League (USL) affiliate of Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United. ATL UTD 2 joined USL for its expansion 2018 season and plays its home matches at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.
