The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-19s strengthened their grip on second place in the Frontier Division of the 2018-19 U.S. Soccer Development Academy with a 2-1 victory over Texans SC Houston on Saturday morning at Swope Soccer Village.
Enzo Mauriz provided both goals for the hosts, smashing home a superb free kick in the 26th minute before burying the game-winning penalty kick on 70 minutes as head coach Rumba Munthaliās men improved their league record to 14-3-3 and all but secured a spot in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs next month in Frisco, Texas, as a top-three finisher in the division.
Sporting forward Abdu Kikhia nearly opened the scoring in the 11th minute, forcing a save from the Texans SC goalkeeper, but the opposition could do nothing about Maurizās moment of magic near the half-hour mark. His sweetly struck free kick nestled into the left corner for his fifth league goal of the campaign.
Texans SC would equalize in the 33rd minute, prompting a strong response from Sporting as Michael Scavuzzoās strike rattled the woodwork on the cusp of halftime. Francisco Lopez and Ciaran Winters both went close in the early stages of the second period, and the breakthrough eventually came at the penalty spot when Mauriz made no mistake from 12 yards.
The visitors pushed hard for a late equalizer and nearly found it, but goalkeeper Max Trejo produced a phenomenal save in the 86th minute to keep his side ahead and ultimately claim all three points.
While the U-19s were victorious, the Sporting KC U-17s and U-15s both slipped to narrow defeats in competitive games against Texans SC. A wonderfully hit Tucker Lepley free kick smacked the post in the U-17sā 1-0 loss, while Dalton Visconti bagged a first-half equalizer in the U-15sā 2-1 setback.
The Sporting KC U-19s, U-17s and U-15s will continue to jockey for playoff positioning next Saturday, hosting the Dallas Texans in a tripleheader at Swope Soccer Village that is free and open to the public. The U-15s will kick off at 10 a.m. CT, followed by the U-17s at noon and the U-19s at 2:15 p.m. CT. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates next Saturday and throughout the season.
