The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-16s are on the brink of their first-ever appearance in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs.
Thanks to a 3-1 comeback victory over California club Pateadores FC on Saturday in Westfield, Indiana, the U-16s maintained first place in Group E ahead of Monday’s all-important group stage finale against Weston FC. An evenly contested match saw Sporting KC fall behind in the 51st minute, but a furious rally in the final 20 minutes produced goals from Sebastian Cruz, Abdu Kikhia and Mitch Eise to secure three precious points.
Should the U-16s win or tie versus Weston FC on Monday, they will advance to the single-game Development Academy quarterfinals for the first time, set to take place between July 5-7. Live updates of Monday’s pivotal clash will be available via Twitter at @SKCAcademy beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT.
The Sporting KC U-18s, meanwhile, continued their playoff campaign in Group B against fellow MLS academy LA Galaxy — a fitting precursor to Saturday night’s MLS match between the same two clubs at StubHub Center in Carson, California. Both sides conjured multiple scoring opportunities throughout the afternoon, but the Galaxy would prevail as a 72nd-minute goal from Patrick Murphy condemned Sporting KC to a 1-0 defeat.
This result means Sporting KC must defeat No. 1 overall seed Atlanta United FC and have LA lose or tie versus FC Boston Bolts on Monday in order to finish atop the group and progress to the Development Academy quarterfinals for the second straight year. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates of Monday’s matchup, set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. CT.
The 2017 Development Academy Playoffs split 32 clubs at each age level into eight groups of four. The group stage will send every first-place finisher to the Development Academy quarterfinals, with four single-elimination matches to be played between July 5-7. The final four teams at the U-18 and U-16 levels will then advance to the Development Academy Championships on July 14 and 16 at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California.
2017 Development Academy Playoffs: U-15/16 Group E
- Sporting KC 4-1 Everton FC Westchester
Thursday, June 22, 1:30 p.m. CT - Sporting KC 3-1 Pateadores
Saturday, June 24, 1:30 p.m. CT - Sporting KC vs. Weston FC
Monday, June 26, 1:30 p.m. CT
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>W-L-T</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>GD</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City |
6 |
2-0-0 |
7 |
2 |
+5 |
Weston FC (Fla.) |
4 |
1-0-1 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
Pateadores FC (Calif.) |
1 |
0-1-1 |
2 |
4 |
-2 |
Everton FC Westchester (N.Y.) |
0 |
0-2-0 |
1 |
5 |
-4 |
2017 Development Academy Playoffs: U-17/18 Group B
- Sporting KC 5-2 FC Boston Bolts
Thursday, June 22, 4:30 p.m. CT - Sporting KC 0-1 LA Galaxy
Saturday, June 24, 4:30 p.m. CT - Sporting KC vs. Atlanta United FC
Monday, June 26, 4:30 p.m. CT
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>W-L-T</strong> |
<strong>GF</strong> |
<strong>GA</strong> |
<strong>GD</strong> |
Atlanta United FC |
4 |
1-0-1 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
LA Galaxy |
4 |
1-0-1 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
Sporting Kansas City |
3 |
1-1-0 |
5 |
3 |
+2 |
FC Boston Bolts |
0 |
0-2-0 |
2 |
6 |
-4 |
