Wednesday, June 4 through Sunday, June 8, the Sporting Kansas City Academy hosted 24 teams from 15 MLS NEXT Academies for a thrilling 2025 Patterson Cup at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. MLS NEXT clubs from across the country punctuated their seasons with one of the most competitive Academy events at the U-13 and U-14 levels.
Fans from all 24 clubs made the trip to Kansas City, providing an amazing atmosphere at Patterson Cup all weekend. Every team was able to play six games thanks to the top-notch facilities at Swope Soccer Village.
Sporting's U-14s and U-13s competed hard in front of the older age groups in the Academy, with the U-14s barely missing out on the finals after falling to Atlanta United in the semis. The U-13s could not make it out of their group but ended their season on a high note with back-to-back consolation match victories.
Sporting's U-14s opened Patterson Cup with a 1-0 loss to Columbus Crew on Wednesday morning but bounced back that afternoon with a 1-0 win over Las Vegas Sports Academy. They picked up their second straight win in their penultimate group stage match against the New England Revolution to put them atop the group. Needing just a result to win the group, Sporting did just enough to earn a scoreless draw against the Chicago Fire and punch their ticket to the semifinals.
Facing off against Atlanta United, Sporting scored first but were brought level right on the cusp of halftime. Atlanta scored again early in the second and tightened things up defensively. SKC nearly grabbed the equalizer in the dying moments of the contest but were repelled at the last second by Atlanta's goalkeeper. Atlanta fell to Orlando City SC in the final on Sunday.
SKC's U-13s opened up the tournament with a pair of losses in two very tight games against Charlotte FC and Atlanta. They picked up a point against FC Cincinnati in a back-and-forth game before losing the group stage finale against Real Salt Lake. They rebounded quickly, defeating Austin FC 4-1 and Chicago 3-1 to end their season on two positive results. Orlando claimed the U-13 title, defeating FC Dallas on Sunday.
Patterson Cup is named after Sporting KC co-owner Neal Patterson and his wife Jeanne, both of whom lost their lives to cancer in 2017. For more than a decade, the Patterson Family helped transform Sporting KC into the model MLS organization it is today. Their unwavering commitment to the growth of soccer in Kansas City has been manifested through the development of state-of-the-art facilities, technological innovation at sporting events and significant investment in soccer at the youth level.
The inaugural Patterson Cup took place in March 2019 with six MLS academies squaring off at the U-12 level. The 2025 edition was the fifth annual Patterson Cup, cementing the competition legacy as one of the top events for MLS NEXT clubs in the pre-development phase of the Academies. Patterson Cup, in its current form, will take a one-year hiatus due to an early MLS NEXT stop date to accommodate the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The MLS NEXT season officially comes to a close later this month with the 2025 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs in Nashville, Tennessee. Sporting's U-15s will take on Atlanta in the First Round of the playoffs, while the U-18s and U-16s wrap up their season with three showcase matches. To keep up to date with everything going on in the Sporting Kansas City Academy, fans can follow @SKCAcademy on X and Instagram or head to SportingKCAcademy.com.
