Six teams converged in Frisco, Texas, over the weekend as the FC Dallas Academy hosted a series of friendlies between three MLS teams and three Mexican clubs – Santos, Monterrey and Tigres.
The only team of the weekend to win both games was Mexican club Santos’ U-16 side, who won 1-0 over FC Dallas on Saturday and 2-0 over Sporting KC on Sunday.
While results on the field were a mixed bag for the three MLS Academies involved, it was a success in terms of the experience of providing different opposition for FC Dallas’ youth sides.
The hosts sent both of their Academy sides into action, with the U-16s winning once and losing once, while the U-18s won and drew against their MLS rivals. Jairo Villalta played a starring role on Sunday, scoring a brace for the U-16s in a 3-0 win over Santos.
Sporting Kansas City were the only other side to feature at both age levels. Their U16s won 3-1 over Tigres on Saturday, with goals from Wes White, Luke Blackwell and Tarlue Doe, while the U18s drew 3-3 with Monterrey on strikes by Jordan Rideout, Will Witherspoon and Michael Oakley to keep KC unbeaten on Saturday. On Sunday, Oakley scored for the second straight game as the U-18s tied Houston 1-1. Kansas City's lone loss came at the hands of Santos in a 2-0 defeat for the U-16s.
The purpose behind the weekend was to give youth academies a chance to go up different opposition and to just play. With the success of the weekend, it’s something that could happen more often in Frisco.
“These are the types of events we’re trying to do more of, where it’s really all about the soccer,” FC Dallas' youth senior director of business development, Katie Edgar, told MLSsoccer.com.
Here are the complete results from the weekend:
Saturday, Feb. 26
U-16
Santos 1, FC Dallas 0
Sporting KC 3, Tigres 1 (Wes White, Luke Blackwell, Tarlue Doe)
U-18
Sporting KC 3, Monterrey 3 (Jordan Rideout, Will Witherspoon, Michael Oakley)
FC Dallas 2, Houston Dynamo 1
Sunday, Feb. 27
U-16
Santos 2, Sporting KC 0
FC Dallas 3, Tigres 0
U-18
FC Dallas 2, Monterrey 2
Sporting KC 1, Houston Dynamo 1 (Michael Oakley)
