LAFC’s Special Olympics Unified Team defeated Nashville SC’s Unified Team Sunday night, 2-0, in a spirited and hard-fought match at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
In partnership with BMO and Special Olympics Southern California, the LAFC Unified Team combines elite soccer players with and without intellectual disabilities on one “unified” team, celebrating inclusion and equality. Nashville SC’s Unified Team does the same through its partners at Special Olympics Tennessee—as do other Unified Teams across Major League Soccer.
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After a scoreless first half in which LAFC Unified goalkeeper Edgar Archila and a rotation of defenders including Jayden Carbajal, Josue Foster, Edrick Escalante, Joseph Trejo, Miguel Gonzalez-Davila, and Ashly Marin stopped several Nashville attacks, LAFC Unified midfielder Zion Jung opened the scoring 11 minutes into the second half with a 28-yard blast, assisted by David Haley, to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.
A strong and aggressive Nashville SC Unified side responded with several promising attacks, but LAFC Unified midfielders Douglas Molina, Penelope Yado, Noah Amezcua, Mayllery “Mona” Rodriguez, Sammy Villaseñor, and Manuel Hernandez substituted on and off the pitch, providing endless energy and competitive fire, while second-half goalkeeper Kevin Demetrio maintained the clean sheet with a diving save seven minutes before the final whistle.
The team’s second-half energy, according to LAFC Unified captains Penelope Yado and Manuel Zambrano, was powered in part by LAFC first-team players Ryan Hollingshead, Tyler Boyd, and club captain Aaron Long, who joined the Unified Team huddle at halftime and encouraged them to continue playing together and competing as a group.
LAFC Unified forward Preston Yado (below, second from R) put the game out of reach with the last kick of the game, a well-placed shot from the top of the penalty area that clinched the Black & Gold’s 2-0 win, the first in non-friendly, official competition in the LAFC Unified Team’s three-year history. Zambrano provided the assist on Yado’s goal. Wingers Zac Soto and Jonathan Gutierrez provided valuable minutes off the bench throughout the match.
Wingback Chris Vazquez (above, far L) led LAFC Unified in minutes played, sharing Man of the Match honors with forward-centerback David Haley.
LAFC Unified will return to action with a series of friendlies throughout southern California, in addition to its weekly training sessions, and will host Portland Timbers Unified on August 22 at BMO Stadium, right after LAFC’s first team takes on the Timbers in MLS regular-season play.
