The Sporting Kansas City Under-13 and Under-14 Academy teams kicked off the 2012 Region II Championships on Saturday with victories at the Saginaw Township Soccer Complex in Saginaw, Michigan. After winning their age groups at the Missouri (U14's) and Kansas (U13's) State Cups earlier this month, both Academy teams advanced to Regionals where they will compete for a spot at the US Soccer Youth National Championship in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The U13's are in Pool C along with KASL United FC Red (Wisconsin) and WDM Royal (Iowa). They earned a 2-0 victory over Pool D's Minnesota Thunder Academy on goals from Nebyou Mergia in the 32nd minute and Cole Miesner in the 56th minute. They'll next face KASL United FC Red at 1pm on Sunday before the final group stage match against WDM Royal at 4pm on Monday.
The U14's are in Pool B along with Millennium Heat (Indiana), Minnesota Thunder Academy 98 Blue and North Shore United (Wisconsin), who they defeated 1-0 on Saturday with a late goal from Dorian Hernandez. They'll return to action at 8am on Sunday against Millennium Heat before their group finale against Minnesota Thunder Academy 98 Blue at 2:30pm on Monday.
The top team in each of the age division's four groups will advance to the semifinals on Tuesday, June 26 with a berth on the line for Wednesday's final.
