The Sporting Kansas City Academy enjoyed a successful Saturday at Swope Soccer Village, sweeping Solar Soccer Club to make a winning return to the 2017-18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season.
The Sporting KC U-19s (10-5-1, 31 points) delivered a wire-to-wire performance against their Dallas-based counterparts, claiming a 6-0 victory to keep hold of third place in the Central Conference's Frontier Division standings. Earlier in the day, the U-15s (4-8-1, 13 points) collected their second straight league win with a 1-0 result before the U-17s (9-6-1, 28 points) triumphed 2-1 to leapfrog three teams for third place in the Frontier Division table.
U-19s: Sporting KC 6-0 Solar SC
Midfielder Sebastian Cruz, who last month was one of eight Academy players to sign an amateur contract with the Swope Park Rangers, put the U-19s on the board early before Roman Knox doubled the lead in the 30th minute with a wonderfully taken volley. Mason Visconti and Sean Karani scored in quick succession before halftime to effectively seal the the win, but it didn't stop Karani and U.S. youth international Cameron Duke from finding the back of the net in the second half.
U-17s: Sporting KC 2-1 Solar SC
The U-17s did their damage in the first 45 minutes, using a 27th-minute strike from U.S. youth international Mitch Eise and Gyuwon Chong to take a two-goal lead into the break. Solar pulled a goal back behind a Sam Coad penalty kick in the 48th minute, but Sporting KC preserved their slender lead to the final whistle.
U-15s: Sporting KC 1-0 Solar SC
Midfielder Cody Casanova provided the lone goal in a competitive affair to kick off the tripleheader. His 18th-minute chip over the Solar keeper gave Sporting KC a 1-0 advantage it wouldn't relinquish, thanks in part to the stellar play of goalkeeper Landon Turner.
Up Next: Houston Dynamo Youth at Swope
The Sporting KC Academy will welcome Frontier Division rivals Houston Dynamo Youth to Kansas City for a U.S. Soccer Development Academy tripleheader at Swope Soccer Village this Saturday. The U-15s will kick off at 10 a.m. CT, followed by the U-17s and U-19s at 12:30 p.m. CT. All three matches are free and open to the general public to attend, with in-game updates available on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (skcacademy).
