The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-18s and U-16s suffered their first defeats of the 2016-17 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season on Saturday, falling to reigning national champions FC Dallas in a doubleheader at Mohawk Soccer Complex in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
FC Dallas U-18s 2, Sporting KC U-18s 0
The Sporting KC U-18s entered the weekend atop the Central Conference's Frontier Division with a 4-0-0 record, outscoring opponents 17-4 in four convincing victories. FC Dallas boasted a 3-0-1 mark of its own and had claimed a second straight USSDA national title just three months earlier.
Saturday's match remained in the balance for much of the afternoon as both sides came close to breaking the deadlock before halftime. Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal connected well with Grayson Barber just five minutes into the match, but Barber's strike flew narrowly wide of the target. At the other end, Ezra Armstrong thwarted FC Dallas with a crucial goal line clearance in the 30th minute.
Jon Parry's men continued to ask questions of the FC Dallas defense after the restart, with Barber again missing by the slimmest of margins after settling a long ball from Chase Bromstedt in the 57th minute. A back-and-forth affair then saw Sporting KC breathe a sigh of relief, as goalkeeper Steve Tekesky produced a fantastic save on 73 minutes to keep the sides level.
A costly giveaway in Sporting KC's own half led to the breakthrough goal in the 77th minute when FC Dallas' leading scorer Devin Vega fired his team ahead. Just two minutes later, substitute Devinson Barco doubled the advantage to seal the result and hand the U-18s their first loss of the USSDA campaign.
FC Dallas U-16s 2, Sporting KC U-16s 1
The Sporting KC U-16s had opened the season with a 3-0-1 record ahead of a stern test against FC Dallas, who won the U-16 USSDA national title in July to complete a historic double with their U-18 team.
Led by head coach Josh Gardner, the U-16s were pegged back on either side of halftime in a game featuring two top clubs in the Frontier Division standings. FC Dallas surged ahead with a clinical counter attack in the 13th minute, then went 2-0 up after scoring on a 47th-minute corner kick.
Sporting KC responded positively, however, as Colin Innes hammered just wide and Abdu Kikhia's blistering strike rattled the crossbar. Mason Visconti gave Sporting KC a lifeline with a cool finish in the 78th minute, but FC Dallas preserved their 2-1 lead to the final whistle.
Next up: Solar Chelsea SC on Oct. 15 (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
The U-18s and U-16s return to Mohawk Soccer Complex on Oct. 15 for a doubleheader against Solar Chelsea SC. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates this weekend and throughout the 2016-17 season.
