GREENSBORO, North Carolina – First things first: two-time national champion Indiana United Academy will not be winning a third title this year.

Indiana was ousted from the USSF Development Academy playoffs after a 1-0 loss in the U18 age group Tuesday to a tough Concorde Fire team that gladly accepted the available invitation to the Academy Finals.

But we’ll get to more on that later.

First we want to salute the Baltimore Bays who took the cake for dramatic match of the day. Needing a tie or a win against Chicago Fire to move on, the Bays trailed 1-0 with 10 minutes left.

That’s when their coach, who could be overheard during a water break, worked his motivational magic.

“What are you looking so worried about?” He asked. “We always find a way.”

Coach knows best.

Moments later, Eli Dennis made a great running chip to Brian Graham who put away a header for likely the biggest goal of his career.

“I was on a 16-game scoring drought,” said Graham, who added a second breakaway score for an exclamation point to the match. “It didn’t look good for us but we found a way to win. When I came to this club (from Freestate) I was worried about whether I would be able to start or play a lot. I just want to win a national championship before college.”

The Bays now have a chance, along with the Derby County Wolves, Crossfire Premier FC, FC Dallas, CASL Chelsea Academy FC, Real So Cal, Vardar and aforementioned Concorde Fire.

But that’s just the headline. The fine print of the Academy Playoffs finale is below.

GROUP A
Derby County Wolves 3, New York Red Bulls 2
Greensboro Youth Soccer 2, PA Classics 1
Standings: Derby County Wolves (3-0-0, 9 pts); New York Red Bulls (2-1-0, 6 pts); Greensboro Youth Soccer (1-2-0 3 pts); PA Classics (0-3-0 0 pts)
Notes: Jordan Tyler scored twice, Soony Saad combined on a pretty goal with Reed Losee and Derby Bounty looks formidable going into Finals Week.

GROUP B
Crossfire Premier 4, LAFC Chelsea 0
Dallas Texans 4, Crew Soccer Academy 2
Standings: Crossfire Premier (2-0-1, 7 pts); Dallas Texans (2-1-0, 6 pts); LAFC Chelsea (1-2-0, 3 pts), Crew Soccer Academy (0-2-1, 1 pt)
Notes: All hail the Great Northwest. Strikers Kelyn Rowe and Liam Kelly combined well early and Crossfire broke through late to take a must-win and position itself for a run at the title.

GROUP C
FC Dallas 3, L.A. Galaxy 2
FC Greater Boston 3, Clearwater Chargers 2
Standings: FC Dallas (3-0-0, 9 pts); L.A. Galaxy (1-1-1, 4 pts); FC Greater Boston (1-1-1, 4 pts); Clearwater Chargers (0-3-0, 0 pts)
Notes: In a match that went back and forth, FC Dallas just had a little too much firepower. Dallas went up 1-0 and both teams traded goals until the end. Chadd Johnson had a good match for the Galaxy and Ruben Luna put away the game-winner on a penalty kick for Dallas.

GROUP D
CASL Chelsea FC Academy 1, Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre 0
Houston Dynamo 3, D.C. United 0
Standings: CASL Chelsea FC Academy (3-0-0, 9 pts); Houston Dynamo (2-1-0, 6 pts); Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre (1-2-0, 3 pts); D.C. United (0-2-1, 1 pt)
Notes: Solid all week, Jared Girard scored early and CASL’s defense held on led by the likes of Ryan Metts.

GROUP E
Real So Cal 1, Sockers FC 0 
Match Fit Chelsea 5, Washington Premier FC 1
Standings: Real So Cal (3-0-0, 9 pts); Match Fit Chelsea (2-1-0, 6 pts); Washington Premier FC (1-2-0, 3 pts); Sockers FC (0-3-0, 0 pts)
Notes: Real So Cal is bursting with individual talent: Victor Chavez, Edwin Rivas, Keon Parsa, etc … etc … they finished off a perfect week and proved they could be a major factor in Carson, CA.

GROUP F
Concorde Fire 1, Indiana United Academy 0
Lonestar Aztex Academy 5, New England Revolution 1
Standings: Concorde Fire (3-0-0, 9 pts); Lonestar Aztex Academy (1-1-1, 4 pts); Indiana United Academy (1-1-1, 4 pts); New England Revolution (0-3-0, 0 pts)
Notes: Indiana had its chances, but could not finish when it needed to most. Still, they have to be commended on a spectacular run these last few years. Now, it’s Concorde’s turn to try and make some news.

GROUP G
Baltimore Bays Chelsea 2, Chicago Fire 1
Texas SC DTH 3, FC Westchester 1
Standings: Baltimore Bays Chelsea (3-0-0, 9 pts); Chicago Fire (1-1-1, 4 pts); Texas SC DTH (1-1-1, 4 pts); FC Westchester (0-3-0, 0 pts)
Notes: Along with CASL, Baltimore also has both its U16 and U18 squads in Finals Week. Can it be a Baltimore sweep?

Group H

California Development 5, IMG Soccer Academy 2
Vardar 3, FC Milwaukee 2
Standings: Vardar (2-1-0, 6 pts); FC Milwaukee (1-1-1, 4 pts); IMG Soccer Academy (1-1-1, 4 pts); California Development Academy (1-2-0, 3 pts)
Notes: A hard-fought win allowed Vardar to make its way out of a tightly packed group. Peter Jacobson had an important goal for Vardar which will be an underdog in the next stage.

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