New England Soccer Today

Revs 17s Fall in Tourney Finale

Guy Kabala and Declan McCabe scored for the Revolution U17s on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough as New England dropped a 4-2 loss to the Orlando Pirates (South Africa) in their final match of the 2012 Future Champions Guateng tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kabala struck in the 22nd minute while McCabe capped the scoring in the 59th minute. But Orlando doubled the Revolution’s efforts thanks to tallies from Nhalanipho Ntuli (3′), Siyanda Ngcobo (32′), Tshepo Liphoko (49′) and Sizwe Twala (58′).

Although Nutli opened the scoring three minutes in, Kabala leveled it with a free kick that lodged itself in the net 19 minutes later.

But Kabala’s strike was the closest the Revs would come to overtaking their opponents. The Pirates responded with three unanswered goals and established a comfortable lead as the hour approached.

Refusing to go down without a fight, the Revs found the back of the net one more time in the 59th minute. McCabe collected a rebound in front of the Orlando net and sent it through to restore a measure of hope for New England.

However, the Revolution couldn’t climb out of the deficit as the Pirates claimed their second victory over New England during the tournament.

Although the Revs 17s finished the tournament with a 1-3-1 record, they grabbed the highest finish (sixth out of 12 teams) for a North American team in the tournament’s history.

The Revolution youth squads resume their Development Academy schedule on Apr. 14 against the PA Classics in Manheim, Pa.

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