U15/16 Final | Day 6 Results | Day 5 Results | Day 4 Results | Day 3 Results | Day 2 Results | Day 1 Results 

CARSON, CALIFORNIA - It all came down to this.

As the two best teams in the U15/16 USSF Development Academy met on the pristine fields of the Home Depot Center for the national championship match Friday night, you could feel the tension in the air.

But the players’ nerves were quickly expelled when, just before kickoff, two U.S. Army fighter jets ripped through the air immediately overhead, to announce what had by this point become quite obvious: this was a pretty big game.

And we were there to catch all the action. Here’s how the U15/16 championship was won.

Chicago Fire 1 – 1 Cal Odyssey (Fire wins 5-3 in PKs)

While the Fire won in the end, and probably earned a few more chances on goal, it was a game played in a series of 10-15 minute blocks, where each team had control for a stretch before giving way to the other side.

The game was also a contrast in playing styles. While the Fire played a more effective possession-based short passing game, the Odyssey were the more dynamic attacking team, and were dangerous stretching the field, going forward with pace.

The first 10 minutes of this back-and-forth affair went to Odyssey.

They came out and had a great early chance in the 2nd minute when Daniel Flores found Villyan Bijev making a diagonal run into the box; but goalkeeper Robert Euler was there to avert early disaster and make the save.

Euler came up big again after Gregory Antognoli and Jon-Paul Medina combined on a clever one-two, featuring Antognoli flicking it through the Fire back line to a streaking Medina, but Euler was again well-positioned to bail the Fire out.

Soon, though, the Fire settled into the game, swinging the ball through the midfield and forcing Odyssey to chase, and suddenly gained a 1-0 advantage when Luis Medina came off a curling run, received a corner kicked and blasted it off one bounce into the top left corner in the 21st minute.

By that point Odyssey’s home-field crowd had turned mostly silent, but they retaliated soon after with an excellent chance when Bijev found Flores for a blistering shot from 16 yards, which, after a Euler tip of the ball, glanced off the crossbar and out.

As the second half began, the Fire regained control of the game, starting with possession in the midfield. David Caban, Luis Barajas, Luis Medina and Victor Pineda kept ball on the ground, strung together simple passes with forwards Manuel Rios and Daniel Flores, and managed to keep Odyssey on their heels.

It was effective in the midfield, but Odyssey defenders Joshua Alvarez, Erik Posada and holding midfielder Vicente Rodarte were flexible and refused to budge. Alvarez, in particular, stood out with his physical play and his dogged pursuit of every loose ball.

Odyssey’s patience was rewarded in the 59th minute, when passes between Medina, Flores and dynamic left winger Tren Biswell found Antognoli at the top of the box, where he slotted home a low shot to tie the score at one.

As regulation neared its end, the Fire turned up the pressure, and some nice work in the midfield by Andrew Connor and Luis Barajas found Victor Pineda just inside the box, where his half-volley pinged off the crossbar.

Moments later, the whistle blew, and overtime was imminent.

In the extra period, back-and-forth play continued, and both teams had their share of dangerous chances.

The Fire’s Elliott Borge found Manuel Rios alone in the box with Odyssey goalie Matt Dishno, but Dishno made an outstanding save to prevent the back-breaking score.

Minutes later, Odyssey’s Daniel Flores took a wicked dipping shot from 20 yards, which really should have been the game-winner – but Euler made an amazing split-second move to tip the ball over the bar.

By this time, players on both sides were visibly exhausted, and several had already collapsed with leg-cramps. As if out of mercy, the referee blew the final whistle, and the penalty shootout loomed.

PKs are a cruel, unjust, but extremely exciting and dramatic way to end a game, and Friday night’s shootout was no different.

One miss was all it took to seal the championship, and unfortunately for Odyssey, that came from Jon-Paul Medina – who had otherwise looked fantastic at the Academy Finals – on Odyssey’s second shot.

The miss meant Andrew Connor, the Fire’s fifth and final shooter, had the opportunity to win his team a championship, and he seized it, coolly finishing in the bottom-right corner.

The Fire bench erupted, Connor ran to the sideline, and on the chilly summer night, coach Larry Sunderland got his customary Gatorade dump.

As the cold, sticky liquid was still setting in his clothes, Sunderland didn’t mind one bit.

“We developed a desire over the course of the season, and it just kept growing and growing, along with our belief in one another,” he said. “We’re a pretty young team. We pride ourselves on our character, integrity and desire – that’s what really separates us. The soccer skill was always there, but the battle and the fight got better and better as we went along this year.

“Today when we knocked the ball around, we were comfortable and confident, but when they pushed the ball forward and stretched us a little bit, they were dangerous, and they’re a heck of a good team. We had a strategy going into the game, if it went to PKs, to go right-footer, left-footer and so on. We made all our shots, so I guess it worked. But it just feels amazing right now, and we’re all just trying to soak it in.”

Take your time, coach. As the best team out of a total of 77 in the U15/16 Academy league, a victory like this deserves more than one Gatorade bath of celebration.

In the other games of the day, 3rd place, 5th and 7th place at Finals week were also determined. Here are the results of those contests:

7th place: CASL Chelsea FC Academy 2 – 0 D.C. United

5th place: Internationals 1 – 0 Sockers FC

3rd place: Baltimore Bays Chelsea 3 – 1 De Anza Force

U15/16 Final | Day 6 Results | Day 5 Results | Day 4 Results | Day 3 Results | Day 2 Results | Day 1 Results