The Sporting Kansas City U12 Generation adidas (GA) Cup team comprised of a few current Academy 2004s and eight Academy Affiliate players captured a 6th place finish at the 2016 Generation adidas Cup at the end of March in Dallas, Texas. The three-day tournament began on March 24th and played host to sixteen of the best youth clubs in the world.
Sporting KC began play in Group C along side Queretaro FC, Portland Timbers & Chicago Fire. The Sporting KC squad opened GA Cup group play on Day 1 with a 5-1 win over Queretaro FC (Mexico) followed by a tough 3-0 defeat to the Chicago Fire. On Day 2, Sporting KC concluded their round-robin play against the Portland Timbers. Needing a win to advance, the team got help from several Academy Affiliate players. Gage Daniels of Sporting St. Croix opened up the scoring early and began celebrating with the Sporting KC U16s, who were their supporting the younger boys. Then, Daniels’ teammate at Sporting St. Croix, Ismael Barrera, extended the Sporting KC lead as he scored two consecutive goals, which created some breathing room. Once it was all said and done, Sporting KC finished the game with a 5-1 win, securing 2nd place with a record of 2-1 (6 points), only behind the Chicago Fire who finished 3-0 (9 points).
Second place was enough for Sporting KC to advance and compete for the tournament title. Later that day Sporting KC began their quest to become champions when they took on Villarreal (Spain), coached by Real Madrid and Spanish legend Raul. The Spanish side, eventual runner-ups were a strong group who took down Sporting KC, 5-0. After the loss to Villarreal, Sporting KC drew another tough task as they faced the GA Cup hosts, FC Dallas Red. Ozzie Cisneros a current Sporting KC Academy player opened the match with a goal, which was quickly followed by Gage Daniels of Sporting St. Croix who doubling the Sporting KC advantage. The Daniels goal proved to be the game-winner, however, Cisneros added his second goal, setup by a great run from Ben Howard of Omaha FC. Sporting KC defeated FC Dallas Red 3-1 and moved on to face Toronto FC (Canada) in the 5th place match.
Sporting KC struck first as Jack Sartino, a Sporting KC Academy player finished off a rebound that deflected off the Toronto FC goalkeeper after a brilliantly taken free kick by Sporting St. Croix’s Kelly Kiproto. Toronto FC equalized, but Sporting KC immediately answered to pull back ahead. Not to be outdone, Toronto FC scored once again to knot the game at 2-2. Sporting KC then took control and dominated possession for the remainder of the game. However, with just two minutes left in the match, Toronto FC capitalized on a counter attack and scored the game-winner.
Sporting KC finished 6th out of 16 and overall performed very well in the Generation adidas Cup. The team was able to gain an extremely valuable experience, one that these young players will cherish for a long time. We are proud of all the boys who participated in the GA Cup and represented Sporting KC with class. To recap the Generation adidas Cup click here and be sure to follow the Sporting Club Network on Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook.
