Not only did all four of Barca Residency Academy’s MLS NEXT teams qualify for the playoffs, but two teams have advanced to the MLS NEXT Cup Semifinals—making Barca Residency Academy the only club with two teams still standing at this stage of the tournament.
Barca Residency Academy’s U16 and U19 squads battled through high-pressure matchups and knocked off opponent after opponent to earn their places in the final four.
The U16s punched their ticket to the semifinals first on Tuesday in an instant classic against Orlando City SC. The match had everything—red card drama, late goals, penalty kick chaos, and the attention of the entire MLS NEXT community gathered around the field.
Barca struck first through Arman Alagha, who scored in every playoff match, but Orlando City responded just before halftime to level the score at 1-1. Orlando took the lead in the second half, putting Barca under pressure with the season hanging in the balance. But with time winding down, Easton Odom delivered in the dying moments, finding the back of the net to equalize at 2-2 and force a penalty shootout.
With so many spectators surrounding the field, league officials moved the shootout to the stadium, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. Goalkeeper Zach Eynon came up with a massive save before stepping up himself to bury the winning penalty and send Barca into the semifinals.
After cheering on their younger brothers the day before, it was the U19’s turn to secure their place in the semifinals on Wednesday against Sacramento Republic FC. In similar fashion, the match was a back-and-forth battle. Barca built a 2-1 advantage behind two goals from leading scorer and University of the Pacific commit Xavier Cisneros. Sacramento Republic answered to level the score and send the match to penalties.
With Point Loma University commit Aaron Tamer in goal, Barca held its nerve and defeated Sacramento Republic 5-4 in the shootout to book a second semifinal berth for the Academy.
With spots in the MLS NEXT Cup Finals on the line, Barca’s U16s will face Metropolitan Oval Academy in the semifinals at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Zion Bank Stadium. The match will be streamed live on the MLS YouTube channel. Barca’s U19s will look to continue their playoff run on Friday at 11:30 a.m. as they take on Columbus Crew on Field 2 at the Regional Athletic Complex.
