FRISCO, TEXAS – The format of the USSF Development Academy playoffs is such that while you can’t ensure advancement on the first day of the event, you can come pretty close to guaranteeing you won’t make it out alive.

With eight, 4-team groups, single round-robin and only one team advancing from each group to next month’s National Finals in Milwaukee, getting a good result on day one is imperative.

Friday it was the U18s beginning action, and our featured matches saw wins from both a familiar name in this relatively young competition, and a rising national power. Following are details from those two games. Scroll down for full results and other group details.

The U16 age group begins Saturday morning. We will be on hand with coverage of both age groups through the conclusion of the event Tuesday.

U18  Feature Match: Indiana United 2, Real Colorado 0

Indiana United won back-to-back national titles in the opening two years of the Academy, first at U16 and then at U18. In year three the same team went most of the season undefeated but failed to repeat as champions.

This year’s U18 team has been much lower profile, but Adam Bruh’s squad looked pretty good Friday, winning 2-0 over Real Colorado and taking the lead in their group.

It was the Denver-area side who looked best in the early going. Amadou Dia was causing all kinds of problems on the left wing, helping the Coloradans to some good scoring chances despite going against a strong wind, but the final connection was never made and the match remained scoreless. Then the fleet-footed attacker was moved to forward and Indiana midfielders Matt Ingram and Brycen Howard began to impose their will on the match.

The increased possession led to a well-worked Indiana goal. Asa Howard, newly committed to Michigan State, ran down the right before playing a good ball to Ingram, who back-heeled for the onrushing Max Lachowiecki. Lachowiecki coolly took to his left and slotted past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. Max Odgaard headed over a few minutes later as Indiana continued to push forward.

However Real nearly equalized just before halftime when Dia played a good pass for Jesse Ham, whose poke went past Indiana goalkeeper Joe Mills. Defender Mason Webber rushed in to clear the ball just before it crossed the line and Indiana held on to a 1-0 lead at the break.

The 2nd half threated to boil over as the match referee permitted far too much physical contact to take place both ways. Bruh made a number of saves including the insertion of 13-year old Cameron Lindley into the midfield. Lindley, fresh off a great week with the U14 Boys National Team at a training camp in California, didn’t look out of place as he has been playing with this team most of the spring. His best moment came when he doubled back to break up a dangerous attacking run by Real with a well-timed tackle.

The substitution that counted the most for Indiana however was the addition of Travis Wannemuehler into the match. Wannemuehler has great technical speed and made a number of dangerous runs on the ball both down the right and through the middle. One led to a 2nd goal for Indiana when his cross from the right was headed into the net by a Real defender to effectively kill off the match.

Real’s David Hewitt looked very dangerous in the late-going, coming close to scoring more than once. Ryan Dozier was effective in the air for Real as well.
For Indiana, Miller was fast and tough as nails on the left. Ingram and Howard bossed the middle of the field. Mills was quick off his line and handled well when called upon.

U18 Feature Match: New York Red Bulls 3, Cal Odyssey 1

A strong late afternoon wind had a lot of impact on this match. J.J. Wozniak’s Northern California team took advantage in the 1st half, going up 1-0 when Gregory Antognoli applied a power finish to a good setup from Jesus Medina.

Joshua Alvarez made an excellent defensive clearing header early on, keeping Dan Metzger’s cross away from the head of NY forward Brandon Allen.

Alvarez’s partner at center back, John Jimenez, made an equally good tackle to end the attacking run of Red Bull midfielder Sean Davis, who worked very well in the middle with Scott Thomsen.

With the wind at their back in the 2nd half, NY equalized quickly. Kyle McCord won a ball in the forward third and rolled a pass to Allen who slotted home to make it 1-1.

Metzger and Richmond McCarthy were both strong on the ball on the right side, while Nick Watson played a good match at left back for Cal.

It was McCarthy who scored the go-ahead goal, running in from the right with the ball and lacing a shot into the far corner of the net. Allen then added his 2nd goal and finished the match with a back header off a well-struck Scott Thomsen free kick.

Friday Results (courtesy U.S. Soccer)

Group One: DC United blanked Empire United 3-0 and Southern California club Pateadores defeated North Carolina Fusion 2-1.

Group Two: Real Salt Lake AZ defeated Sockers FC 3-0 to draw the westerners level with Red Bulls.

Group Three: California Development Academy drew 1-1 with Chicago Fire, while New Jersey giants PDA defeated PA Classics 2-0.

Group Four: Dallas Texans and Arsenal FC drew 1-1, with Crew Soccer Academy taking the group lead via a 3-2 defeat of Charlotte Soccer Academy.

Group Five:  Indiana United have the group lead after their win and a 1-1 draw between FC Dallas and Cosmos Academy West.

Group Six: Seattle Sounders routed Seacoast United 9-2, and Baltimore Bays Chelsea defeated St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri 2-1.

Group Seven: Weston FC and Chivas USA drew 2-2 and St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro took the group lead with a 2-1 win over Derby County Wolves.

Group Eight: CASL Chelsea defeated Concorde Fire 2-1, while Albertson SC edged Colorado Rush/AJ Auxerre 2-1

COMPLETE PLAYOFF COVERAGE:

Day 1 - Red Bulls, Indiana win
Day 2 - 16-year old pro scores winner
Day 3 - U16 playoff picture comes into focus