The KCW Juniors U16 team proved that they are a national force to be reckoned with this past weekend, making a strong showing at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy League playoffs. In only their first season competing in the League, the U16s came in with a bang, earning a playoff berth as one of the top 32 teams of 77 total clubs.
The playoffs took place in Greensboro, North Carolina from June 25-27. During that time, the U16s played three games against three of the top clubs in the nation: the top seeded Baltimore Bays, the 10-seed Dallas Texans and the 24-seed Chivas USA.
The U16s fell short to Baltimore on Friday, losing 1-2. They nevertheless had an excellent performance, scoring first and keeping the score even until the 60th minute. Jordan Rideout scored the lone goal, chipping one past the goalkeeper. If it weren’t for a saved penalty kick, the result could have differed.
“Baltimore was one of the best teams I’ve ever played against. It was kind of intimidating, but really encouraging that we were able to stay with them. We controlled most of the game, and if we had converted the penalty kick, we probably would’ve won,” Rideout said.
Saturday, the boys took the pitch against the Dallas Texans, this time coming away with a 1-0 victory. Rideout once again scored the solitary goal, and a strong performance by the defense, including defenders Konnor Knoll and Eric DeJulio and ‘keeper Jon Kempin, kept the U16s on top.
“Dallas had a really fast forward, so my main focus for the game was to not let him turn on goal and get a shot off. If anyone was going to score, it was him. Our defense as a whole did what we set out to do and were able to shut him down,” Knoll said.
Another solid match on Monday propelled the U16s to a 2-0 win over Chivas USA. Both goals came early; the first from Lucas Throckmorton in the 2nd minute and the next from Derek Schrick in the 10th minute. Unfortunately, the 2-1 record on the weekend was not enough for the U16s to advance. Baltimore came away with a 3-0-0 record to win the group, one of only two clubs to win all group matches at the event, and will compete in the round of eight.
The U16s are not completely disappointed with their weekend, however.
“I was very, very pleased with our performance,” head coach Jon Parry said. “We have quite a bit of respect around the league now after this weekend. From here, we feel like we can play with any team in the country.”
Next up for the U16s is the 2010 SUM Cup in Houston during the weekend of July 25. They will play the Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake and New York in group play. Follow the U16s and all things KCW Juniors at kcwjuniors.blogspot.com.
