The Sporting KC Academy U15's won Kansas State Cup in May. Then took home the Region II title in June. And now will play in the national championship at 9:40 a.m. CT on Sunday at the Mohawk Soccer Complex in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the US Youth Soccer Cup (pictured on right) on the line.
The U15's continued their unprecedented run at the 2015 US Youth Soccer National Championships on Saturday with a 2-1 semifinal victory over the Dallas Texans 00 Red. For the second straight game, the Sporting KC youth side forced a defensive mistake early and took a 1-0 lead on an own goal following a cross by Cameron Duke. The Texans pulled back level in the 24th minute and looked to have the upper hand when the Sporting KC U15's were reduced to 10 players following a straight red card in the second half.
Against the odds, Max Rugova scored his third goal of the tournament in the game's final minutes to send his side into Sunday's championship match in dramatic fashion.
The Sporting KC U15's will face Region I champions Fewster FC (Maryland), who prevailed 1-0 over United FA 00 Premier on Saturday, for the opportunity to become the first boys team from the state of Kansas to win a US Youth Soccer national championship in the 80-year history of the event. Sunday's match will be streamed live online and fans can follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for in-game updates.
The
U15's roster
-- led by head coach Jon Parry and Istvan Urbanyi -- features seven players eligible to play in the U14 age division, and 13 of the 15 SKC Academy players who competed in the U14 age group at the
USYS National Championships one year ago
(denoted by asterisks below).
Blake Arndt |
Jacob Hall |
Abdu Kikhia* |
David Merola |
Braeden Vermillion* |
Alex Brown |
Colin Innes* |
John Klein* |
Luke Rafanan* |
Mason Visconti |
Cameron Duke* |
Alex Jimenez |
Roman Knox* |
Kyle Reese* |
Jackson Wood* |
Dontell Gilyard* |
Mike Keon* |
Massimo McGuire* |
Max Rugova* |
Kyle Ziegler |
