Dallas Cup: OBGC Rangers U-16s win title, AC Bethesda, Barca FC, Champions League Select all pick up wins in prestigious event
By Jimmy LaRoue
Several local teams produced impressive performances at the famous Dallas Cup tournament in Texas last week, with one squad even taking home a trophy as Olney’s OBGC Rangers ran through bracket play undefeated and went on to take the Under-16 title.
In U-17 Dallas Cup action, AC Bethesda (Md.) went 1-1-1 in Bracket H. In its opening match, AC Bethesda tied Albion White 1-1.
After Richard Kirouac put Albion White ahead 1-0 in the 15th minute, Ngeindolah Smith leveled the match for AC Bethesda. That accounted for all of the scoring.
In its second match, the Dallas Texans U-15/16 Academy team shutout AC Bethesda 2-0, as the Texans got a goal in each half to secure the win.
AC Bethesda broke through in its third match, rallying from a one-goal deficit to defeat Erin Mills Eagles (Canada) 2-1. Allister Rivers put Erin Mills ahead 1-0 on a goal in the 20th minute, but AC Bethesda’s Christopher Odoi-Atsem tied the match two minutes later. The match stayed that way until the 90th minute, when Frederic Nzekele scored to give AC Bethesda the win.
Albion White finished atop Bracket H and advanced to the quarterfinals, falling to Tigres 4-2.
In U-14 Bracket A action, Barca FC of Fairfax, Va. rallied from an opening match, 4-1 loss to Chicago Blast Academy, picking up a 4-4 tie against Fullerton Rangers and then a 3-2 win over Liga Deportiva Alajuelense to finish 1-1-1 in the bracket, good for third place but not enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the opening loss, Barca FC got its lone goal from Jean-Christoph Koffi in the 44th minute. His goal cut the lead to 2-1, but Chicago Blast Academy got another goal before the half, and scored again midway through the second half to pick up the win.
Barca FC’s second match was a shootout, as the two teams combined for seven of the match’s eight goals before halftime. Fullerton opened the scoring in the second minute on a goal from Jacob Aldana, with Daniel Hulzar adding another in the 16th minute before Barca FC responded.
Koffi picked up the first of his two goals in the 24th minute, which began a streak of five goals in 15 minutes between the two teams. Alexis Diaz picked up a goal in the 30th minute, and four minutes later, his Fullerton teammate Jacob Anderson scored to extend its lead to 4-1.
Barca FC responded immediately, getting a goal a minute later from Jason Mejia, and cut the Fullerton lead to 4-3 in the 39th minute on a goal from David Salas.
The Fairfax side made it all the way back in the 58th minute on another Koffi goal, but remarkably, given the high goal output of the first half, there were no more goals to be had the rest of the way.
In its final match against Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, Barca FC raced out to a 2-0 lead on two goals from James Hamer in the fourth and 11th minutes. Alajuelense cut the lead in half by halftime, and the two teams exchanged goals in the 70th minute, with Barca FC’s coming from Nicolas Estrada. Barca FC were without Koffi and Alberto Zapata for the match, as they were both on the match ineligible/suspended list.
Champions League Select (Va.) went 1-2-0 in Bracket C, sandwiching a 1-0 win over Chicago Fire Youth Academy in between two losses, 2-0 to Nomads Academy in its opener, and 3-0 to Club Universidad Nacional in its final bracket match. Jalen Johnson got Champions League Select’s lone goal of the tournament in its lone win.
The 2012 champions and finalists for each age group are as follows:
Gordon Jago Super Group: Coritiba FC (Brazil) over Manchester United FC (England), 2-1
U-19: Solar Chelsea U17/18 USSF Academy (Tx.) over Arsenal FC USSF U17/18 Academy (Calif.), 3-1
U-17: Rot Weiss Essen (Germany) over Tigres (Mexico), 1-0
U-16: OBGC Rangers (Md.) over FC Golden State (Calif.), 3-1
U-15: Fullerton Rangers White (Calif.) over Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), 2-1
U-14: Sunrise Elite (Fla.) over Arsenal FC US Academy (Calif.), 1-0
U-13: United FC Gold (Calif.) over Nomads Academy (Calif.), 1-0
