FRISCO, TEXAS - Wednesday’s matches at the Dallas Cup determined who would and wouldn’t advance to the quarterfinals in seven age groups at the prestigious tournament.

One such match saw Kevin Smith’s Solar SC U18 Academy side, competing in the U19 bracket, needing a win to advance as group winners. The English side Lewisham College were hoping that Northern California side Juventus could hold on for a draw so that they instead would go through, and the Lewisham team were on the sideline at Pizza Hut Park lending vocal support.

In  the early going, the Juventus team looked capable of upsetting Solar’s apple cart. They have some big, athletic players, and on top of that Solar looked a bit unsure of themselves playing against the heavy winds on the outlying field at Pizza Hut Park. Efforts from Armando Garcia and Arnold Lopez both came close for Juventus, as did a low shot from Gerardo Madrigal.

But a crunching tackle from Solar’s Chad Asher and good combination play between Solar’s Tyler Wagley and Trevor Hubbard, resulting in a near miss, seemed to get the Dallas-area side untracked.

An even better sequence put Solar on the board. Wagley sent a good pass down the right to Daniel Forry, who streaked in from the right before rolling an exquisite ball across the goalmouth for Michael Flowers who buried his shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 Solar lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Juventus, and by extension Lewishham, when Wagley went on a 50-yard run into the area and was brought down from behind by a defender, resulting in a penalty and a red card. Wagley took the spot kick himself and converted to make it 2-0.

Juventus still battled gamely in the 2nd half despite being a man down, but the result of the match was no longer in doubt. Rocco Bagley made it 3-0 on an assist from Wagley, and Nick Leavitt scored on a breakaway to close the scoring at 4-0. Another notable point from the 2nd half was the skillful play of Vincent Mediate, who combines athleticism with good skill.

Solar now advances to the quarterfinals.

Wednesday Results
SuperGroup
Tottenham 2, Tigres 0
Chelsea 1, Monterrey 0
Hoffenheim 7, CZ Elite 0
Mexico MNT 1, Vancouver Whitecaps 0
FC Dallas Academy 2, Alajuelense 1
Dallas Texans Academy 3, Japan U20 MNT 2

U19
Toronto FC 1, Malibu 0
Lewisham College 2, Houston Leones 0
Shattuck St. Marys 1, Knowsley Youth 0
Chorillo 2, Striker FC 0
Royal Navy 1, Louisiana Fire 0
Lonestar 2, IMG Academy 1
Utah ODP 91 2, FC Dallas 1
AYSES Gold 4, Queens Park Rangers 1
Solar SC 4, Juventus Strikers 0
Andromeda 4, Indiana Invaders 0
Archbishop Tutu 3, Eclipse Black 0

U17
United FC 1, Alajuelense 1
Brujas 3, Shattuck St. Marys 1
Monterrey 2, Chicago Fire 0
Erin Mills 4, Club Mana 1
MVLA Raptros 1, IMG Academy 0
Leon 3, Yali Middle School 1
Capital Football 3, Prepa Tec 0
Lonestar 1, Synergy 0
Tigres 4, Madison 56ers 1
Eclipse Premier 0, Triangle FC 0
San Nicolas 8, ROS Menton 0
Davis Legacy 5, Dallas Texans West 1
Solar Academy 7, Copa Forza 5
Dallas Texans 4, Rampage FC 0

U16
Santa Clara Sporting 2, Oakville 1
De Anza 1, Guadalajara 0
Chicago Fire 2, Prepa Tec 0
Houston Dynamo 2, Shattuck St. Marys 0
Aztecs 3, Pumas 0
Monterrey 6, Team America 1
TFC 2, Notts Forest 1
Central California Blues 4, Solar Red 0

U15
Eintracht Frankfurt 8, Birmingham United 2
Tigres 3, West Coast FC 1
South Florida 2, Striker FC 2
Monterrey 2, Albion 2
VCCL 1, Prepa Tec 0
Chivas 4, De Anza Force 1
Chicago Magic 1, CD Fair Play 0
FC Dallas 4, Tigres Houston 3
Gulf Coast United 0, New Mexico Rush 0
AC Bethesda 3, Solar SC 0
Dallas Texans 2, Chicago Fire Juniors 1

U14
Lonestar 2, Gulf Coasts United 1
Aztecs 3, San Nicolas 0
West Coast 8, Team America 0
TSC Texans 1, Chicago Magic 0
VCCL 1, Santa Clara Sporting 0
West Pines United 2, Sparta Premier 0
Milan FC 3, Club Brujas 2
DeAnza Force 2, Loyola Caracas 0
Pateadores 2, Ravenswood 0
Andromeda 3, KCFC Alliance 0

U13
San Diego Surf 2, Rayados 0
LAFC 9, Texas Rush 0
Crewe Alexandra 1, Lonestar 0
Chicago Fire Juniors 2, Tigres 1
Chicago Magic 5, Pumas 2
FC DELCO 2, Monterrey 0
Club Mana 2, West Pines United 1
Lehigh Valley 4, Prepa Tec 0
Dallas Texans South 2, LAFC Black 1