The Sporting Kansas City Academy returned to U.S. Soccer Development Academy action on Sunday for its first fixtures of 2016, taking two wins and a draw from a tripleheader against the Colorado Rush in Hays, Kansas.
The U-18s kicked off the afternoon at Fort Hays State University Soccer Stadium with a 1-0 victory, highlighted by Adam Collinsworth’s game-winner and Steve Tekesky’s shutout. Mason Visconti was on target for the U-16s in a 1-1 draw before the U-14s secured a 3-1 triumph with goals from Stefan Freeman, Aidan Bates and Michael Ambrose.
Playing their first match since the USSDA Winter Showcase last December, the Sporting KC U-18s (8-5-1, 25 points) jumped to third place in the Frontier Division and avenged a 3-2 loss to Colorado in November. The top three finishers in the division will qualify automatically for the USSDA playoffs this summer.
The U-16s (6-6-1, 19 points) consolidated their fourth-place position in the Frontier Division, level on points with the Dallas Texans but out of playoff position by virtue of the winning percentage tiebreaker. The draw snapped a three-game losing skid the U-16s sustained last December at the USSDA Winter Showcase in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
Coached by Istvan Urbanyi, the U-18s and U-16s will take two weekends off before playing their first home games of the year. Lonestar SC (Texas) will travel to Swope Soccer Village for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the U-18s kicking off at 9 a.m. CT and the U-16s battling at 11:30 p.m. CT. All Sporting KC Academy matches at Swope Soccer Village are free and open to the public.
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