The Sporting Kansas City U-16s were in Texas this weekend for three Generation adidas Cup qualifying matches at Houston Sports Park.
After dropping their first game on Friday, the U-16s bounced back with consecutive wins on Saturday and Monday to finish 3-3-0 in the Central qualifying region. Istvan Urbanyi's side now looks ahead to the annual Generation adidas Cup — an elite youth tournament held by adidas and MLS — from March 18-26 in Frisco, Texas.
Six total berths were at stake in the Generation adidas Cup Championship Division, reserved for the top two finishers in each of the East, Central and West regions. Those six teams won the opportunity to face international clubs in Frisco and compete for the Generation adidas Cup title.
Sporting KC is one of 11 other academy sides that failed to qualify for the Championship Division but will still travel to next month’s tournament, competing among themselves in the Premier Division.
Sporting KC entered the weekend with a 1-2-0 record in the Central qualifying region, having played its first three qualifying matches last October at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City. The U-16s fell to the Chicago Fire 1-0 on Friday but nearly salvaged an equalizer in second-half stoppage time, only for Johnny Klein’s effort to carom off the crossbar.
Saturday saw Sporting KC respond with a thrilling 4-3 win over the Houston Dynamo U-18s. Klein fired his side ahead in the seventh minute before Max Rugova and Sheldon China scored within a minute of one another to give Sporting KC a 3-0 cushion before the break. The Dynamo struck back with three unanswered goals in the second half, but Mason Visconti netted the game-winner with five minutes remaining following a cross from Grayson Barber.
Sporting KC knocked off another Houston Dynamo side on Monday afternoon, claiming a 3-2 victory against the U-16s. Jake Gusler set up Kyle Reese for the decisive strike in the 23rd minute and Klein bagged his second of the weekend just a minute later to extend the lead. Houston battled back with a pair of goals shortly after halftime, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. In the 71st minute, Rugova received a pass from China and delivered the Academy's second straight late-game winner, finding the back of the net with a curling strike from 25 yards out.
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