On Friday afternoon, Orlando City announced the signing of midfielder Pierre Da Silva from its USL reserve team Orlando City B. The signing of the 18-year-old is a major milestone for a club that continues its rise.
When Orlando City launched its academy in 2012, the goal of Founder and President Phil Rawlins — now the club’s life-president — was to develop players that would eventually play for the first team. Rawlins stated at the time that he wanted to see at least seven players in the first team that were developed by the club.
Following the academy’s launch, the next step was to create a reserve team that would connect the academy with the first team.