The Sporting Kansas City Academy U-15s spent Thanksgiving weekend competing against premier teams from across the globe at the 2017 Copa Rayados Internacional in The Woodlands, Texas.
The fifth annual Copa Rayados featured elite academy sides from the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Netherlands, giving Sporting KC six matches over a five-day span. Participating in the U-15 Supergroup alongside 15 other heralded academies, Sporting KC punctuated its tournament appearance with a 5-2 victory over Houston Club Division on Saturday and a penalty shootout win over Mexican outfit Mineros de Zacatecas on Sunday.
Head coach Kelly Findley's men faced stern competition in the group stage, playing a total of four matches across Wednesday and Thursday. After falling to Deportivo Toluca and the Houston Dynamo on day one, Sporting KC battled Santos Laguna to a scoreless draw on Thanksgiving morning and rounded out pool play with a loss to Dutch club FC Utrecht.
Group stage results placed Sporting KC in the Copper Division semifinals, where they faced local side Houston Club Division. A rest day on Black Friday proved beneficial as the U-15s raced out to their first lead of the competition. Thirteen-year-old Osvaldo Cisneros fired his team ahead within six minutes before 12-year-old Gage Akalu doubled the advantage on 23 minutes. Club Division was quick to cut the deficit in half, but Akalo restored the two-goal cushion on the stroke of halftime off a cross from Cody Casanova.
The hosts pulled one back yet again early in the second half, setting the stage for an exciting final 20 minutes of action. Kelly Kipruto seized his opportunity in the late stages, sending a superb free kick into the top corner to make it 4-2. Less than two minutes later, Kipruto won a penalty kick that Dylan Hooper calmly stroked past the keeper to seal the triumph.
Sunday provided a dramatic finale as Sporting KC locked horns with Mineros de Zacatecas in the Copper Division final. Cisneros picked up where he left off the day before with a sweet 10th-minute strike off Jack Dean's corner kick. Mineros equalized on the half-hour mark and surged ahead halfway through the second period, but an excellent long-range curler from Kipruto in the 70th minute restored parity and sent the game into two 10-minute periods of extra time. Neither side was able to break the deadlock, however, and the match would be decided via penalty kicks.
Goalkeeper Nathan Gabris was the unquestioned shootout hero, saving Mineros' first two spot kicks as Kipruto and Storm Reif converted their attempts to give Sporting KC a 2-0 lead through two rounds. Mineros bagged their next two kicks, but successful strikes from Stefan Bilinac and Jeremiah Musa gave Sporting KC a well-earned victory to end the weekend.
U-17s and U-19s set for Winter Showcase
Just as the U-15s complete a prestigious tournament of their own, the Sporting KC U-17s and U-19s will now prepare for their own busy slate of matches next week when they venture to Lakewood Ranch, Florida for the 2017-18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase. Both teams will play three matches between Thursday, Nov. 30 and Monday, Dec. 4, marking the last time both sides will play until the resumption of the Development Academy regular season in February.
