Up against some of the best competition in the country this weekend, the U13 and U14 Juniors put in strong performances to showcase Sporting Kansas City's youth development academy. On Saturday, the U13's became the first club this year to take a point from the Chicago Fire Academy (7-1-1) with a 1-1 draw at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park.
Unfortunately, the rest of results wouldn't favor the home side with three defeats, each by a single goal, to follow. In the second match of Saturday's doubleheader, the U14's came up just short in a 3-2 loss to their fellow MLS rivals, as the Chicago Fire Academy improved to 8-1-0 on the season.
On Sunday, the Under-13 Juniors came close to spoiling the Chicago Magic's perfect 9-0-0 season but suffered a hard fought 1-0 loss, being held scoreless for the first time in the 2011-12 season. The U14's scored their third goal of the weekend and League-leading 29th of the year only to drop a 2-1 decision against the visitors from the Windy City.
The U13 and U14 Juniors will conclude play in the Midwest Developmental League next weekend with a road trip to Milwaukee to face the only two teams in the Great Lake Division they've yet to play, FC Milwaukee Nationals and Milwaukee Bavarians Juniors. The games carry added importance as the teams' final opportunity to earn a spot in the 2011-12 MDL Playoffs in Libertyville, Illinois from July 6-8.
