The Sporting Kansas City Academy split a pair of matches against Real Colorado on Saturday at Fort Hays State University Soccer Stadium in Hays, Kansas.
The Sporting KC U-18s rode a strong second-half performance to a 3-0 victory, moving atop the standings in the 2015-16 U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s Frontier Division. Nansel Selbol bagged his team-leading eighth goal of the season to break the deadlock in the 60th minute, curling an impressive shot inside the far post from the left edge of the box. A header from Logan Lucas and a short-range strike from Paul Whitener rounded out the win, while goalkeeper Steve Tekesky earned his third shutout of the USSDA campaign.
The triumph lifted the U-18s (5-2-0, 15 points) into first place in the 11-team Frontier Division, two points ahead of Dallas Texans, Texas Rush and FC Dallas, a club Sporting KC defeated 3-1 on Oct. 24.
The @SKCAcademy U18s moved into first place in their division with a 3-0 win on Saturday: https://t.co/4ioaNIGOtXhttps://t.co/zH9WGhyuyP
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) November 3, 2015The second match of Saturday’s doubleheader saw the Sporting KC U-16s suffer a narrow defeat. Abdu Kikhia and Grayson Barber scored goals on either side of halftime, but Real Colorado emerged with the 3-2 victory and moved a point ahead of third-place Sporting KC (5-2-0, 15 points) in the Frontier Division table.
The U-16s, who lost their second straight game after opening the USSDA season with five consecutive wins, played on Saturday without defender Jaylin Lindsey and forward Mason Visconti, who are currently participating in the U.S. U-15 Boys’ National Team training camp in Bradenton, Florida.
The U-16s and U-18s return to league action this weekend with two games each in the Rocky Mountains. Both sides are set for a rematch with Real Colorado on Saturday in Highlands Ranch before facing Colorado Crush on Sunday in nearby Denver.
Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter and Instagram for all Sporting KC Academy updates throughout the 2015-16 season.
