Around the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Week 25

See below for a look at some of the top headlines from around the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this week, along with an update on the league leaders and top match-ups coming up this weekend.

+Read: U.S. Soccer Development Academy East Conference Recap: Week 24

Headlines

U.S. U-17 men’s national earns draw in first game of AIFF Youth Cup

Days after coach John Hackworth named the 23-player roster for the event, the U.S. U-17 men’s national team began the AIFF Youth Cup Cup in Goa, India with a 1-1 draw against Tanzania on May 15. Toronto FC’s Ayomide Akinola scored the U.S.’s only goal in the third minute off a feed from Jean-Julien Foe Nuphaus (San Jose Earthquakes), but Tanzania knotted up the score in the 15th minute. The U.S. plays Indiana on Thursday, South Korea on Saturday and Malaysia on May 23.

Orlando City SC partners with South Brevard FC

South Brevard FC, based in Space Coast, Florida, will now be able to directly connect with Orlando City SC’s youth academies. For highly skilled players, this partnership also affords them the opportunities to join Orlando City SC’s academy teams and go up against a high-level of competition. Starting May 31, South Brevard FC will hold tryouts for its club. These will take place at Palm Bay Regional Park and last until June 3.

Houston Dynamo U-12 team competes in European tournament

Houston Dynamo’s U-12 group played teams like F.C. Barcelona and F.C. Porto as a part of this year’s Arousa Futbol 7 Tournament, a prestigious youth tournament in Spain. Houston Dynamo started the tournament with a 2-2 draw before securing a 2-0 win. It lost 3-0 to FC Barcelona but pulled out a close win over F.C. Porto to advance to the quarterfinals. Houston’s road to a championship ended there, as A.F.C. Ajax handed the team a 4-1 loss. After putting on a quality showing at this international tournament, the Dynamo will have another chance to showcase their abilities against international teams when it plays in the La Liga Tournament in December.

LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders FC place at Cayman Airways Youth Cup
Sounders Recap | Galaxy Recap

LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC took third and fourth place, respectively, at the Cayman Airways U-15 Invitational Youth Football Cup, which wrapped up May 15 at Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town. Both teams were two wins away from claiming the tournament crown, advancing to the semifinals. LA Galaxy took a 3-2 loss to Manchester City, the eventual champions, while Seattle Sounders FC lost 4-2 to Cuba National. The two Development Academy sides met in the third-place game, and LA Galaxy pulled out a 2-1 win.

South Carolina Battery Academy taking year off

Due to various issues, South Carolina Battery Academy will suspend operations for at least one year. The problems include a lack of practice and game field and the loss of potential players to high school soccer. The club will attempt to return to the Development Academy for the 2017-2018 season. South Carolina Battery Academy is currently 7-19-5 in the U-15/16 division and 11-15-5 at the U-17/18 level.

New York Red Bulls Academy teams post another winning weekend

The New York Red Bulls Academy competed at all age levels the weekend of May 14-15, going 3-2-1. The Red Bulls U-18s, U-16s and U-13s all traveled to New Hampshire to take on Seacoast United, while the U-14s took on New York Soccer Club and the U-12s faced BW Gottshee.

Seattle Sounders Academy U-16s, U-18s pick up wins

With U-14 Sounders Academy team turning plenty of heads in the Cayman Islands, the U-16 and U-18 sides followed suit in Starfire Stadium. Despite missing several key players — Harrison Kurtz, Tobi Jnohope,Lorenzo Ramos and Kei Tomazawa all traveled with S2 for the match against Sacramento—Seattle still managed the double over Portland.

Top Match-ups This Weekend

U-15/16
FC Golden State (21-5-7) @ Real Salt Lake AZ (17-11-5) – Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Seattle Sounders FC (13-9-5) @ Crossfire Premier (14-7-6) – Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
BW Gottschee Academy (12-5-6) @ Montreal Impact FC – Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Weston FC (20-2-6) @ Orlando City SC (15-9-5) – Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
FC Dallas (21-2-0) @ Sporting Kansas City (11-8-4) – Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
New York Red Bulls (15-1-6) @ Philadelphia Union (15-3-6) – Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Chicago Fire (13-5-2) @ Crew SC Academy Wolves (13-4-3) – Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

U17/18
Seattle Sounders FC (14-6-7) @ Crossfire Premier (12-7-8) – Saturday at 11 a.m.
BW Gottschee Academy (22-1-0) @ Montreal Impact FC (11-4-7) – Saturday at 11 a.m.
FC Dallas (17-3-3) @ Sporting Kansas City (13-7-3) – Saturday at 12 p.m.
New York Red Bulls (15-3-4) @ Philadelphia Union (16-3-5) – Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Chicago Fire (10-5-5) @ Crew SC Academy (14-5-1) – Sunday at 10 a.m.
Orlando City SC (18-4-7) @ Chargers Soccer Club (15-9-5) – Sunday at 1 p.m.

League Leaders