Development Academy Recap: Division titles

Development Academy Recap: Division titles
by J.R. Eskilson
May 20, 2014

 

The end of the regular season in the Development Academy turns the focus toward playoffs and trophies. Over the weekend, a few Academy teams earned the honor as division champions.

Check out who won some hardware in the Academy Recap below.

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Paul Christensen, Seattle Sounders, boys club soccerPaul Christensen

CENTRAL

Houston Dynamo U18 beat FC Dallas 1-0 on Saturday in the big showdown between MLS academies. Emmanuel Usen scored the lone goal, his seventh of the season. Dynamo moves into a comfortable spot in the wild card race with only two regular season games left on the schedule. FC Dallas already clinched a playoff spot, but is in the midst of its worst run of form this season. Dallas has one win from its past four games.

FC Dallas won the U16 tilt. Juan Flores scored yet against for Houston Dynamo but two second half goals propelled FC Dallas to the win. FC Dallas has already locked up the division crown and sits in third place in the national standings for the U16 age group.

Chicago Magic PSG U16’s six-point weekend moved the squad into a tie for the top spot in the Mid-America division. Magic beat Crew Soccer Academy 4-3 on Saturday and then topped Internationals 4-1 on Sunday. Crew Soccer Academy Wolves kept pace with Magic thanks to a four-point weekend. Wolves’ Daniel Wright scored with seven minutes left for the opening goal on Saturday against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri, but the visitors answered back with a goal four minutes later via Justin Stinson. The race at the top of the division remains tight with Vardar only one point back and St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri sitting three points back.

The race for the Mid-American Division title in the U18 age group is over. Chicago Fire clinched the honor on Saturday with a 4-0 win over Internationals. Collin Fernandez scored twice and Jeffrey Farina and Marin Alba each added a goal. On Sunday, Fire suffered its second defeat of the season though as Crew Soccer Academy held on for a 1-0 win. Silankonet Bayo scored the lone goal.

WEST

The Southwest Division U18 title is coming down to the last weekend as well.  LA Galaxy moved into the top spot over the weekend with a 5-0 win over Arsenal. Adonis Amaya scored a hat trick. Real Salt Lake AZ lost 4-2 to Portland Timbers on Sunday, which opened the door for Galaxy in two weeks with a win against Strikers to claim the division title. Real So Cal is still in the mix as well, as a Galaxy loss and a Real So Cal win against Nomads on June 1 would hand the crown to the boys in blue. Real So Cal beat Chivas USA U18 1-0 on Saturday, which made it six wins from Real So Cal’s last seven games.

RSL-AZ also struggled in Portland in the U16 game as the Timbers came away with a 5-0 win. However, Real Salt Lake already clinched the division title before the game and enters the postseason as the No. 2 overall seed. LA Galaxy also dropped points in the U16 age group over the weekend as Arsenal upset the second place team with a 1-0 result.

Seattle Sounders U18 moved one step closer to locking up the Northwest Division with a 2-2 draw against Portland Timbers on Saturday. Satoshi Chaffin and Seyi Adekoya scored for Sounders while Paul Christensen blocked a penalty kick in the second half to secure the point despite playing a man down for most of the game.

Sounders U16 also had a remarkable outing in another 2-2 draw. Sounders trailed by two goals early, but Victor Mansaray scored twice to lead the comeback. Sounders also sit in first place in the division in the U16 age group.

EAST

Bethesday-Olney U18 continued its trend of steamrolling opponents with an 8-1 win over Richmond Strikers on Saturday. Eight players scored for Bethesday in the win as Jeremy Ebobisse Ebolo, Daniel Kaiser, Nolan Axenfeld, Jason Mayorga, Sam Schmidt, Bruno Scodari, Carter Manley, and Christopher Fisher all found the back of the net. Since the start of the calendar year, Bethesda-Olney U18 has outscored its opponents 30-4 and won seven games in a row.

PDA U16 extended its shutout streak to five games over the weekend with a 0-0 result against Philadelphia Union and a 1-0 win over Richmond Strikers. PDA has a four-point lead at the top of the division with only two games left in the regular season.

 

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