Dev. Academy Finals Week: U-17/18 New York Red Bulls, Shattuck-St. Mary’s clinch places in final
HOUSTON – The New York Red Bulls clinched a trip to the Development Academy championship game for the second consecutive season in the form of a 4-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders. The Red Bulls scored two goals on both sides of halftime and maintained a strict back four throughout to keep the clean sheet.
Arun Basuljevic tallied a brace for New York, scoring in the 41st and 46th minutes, respectively. His goals were bookended by tallies from Alex Muyl, who found the back of the net in the 29th minute, and Ethan Decker who slotted home his penalty kick attempt in the 62nd minute.
The Red Bulls came into the night in second place in Group 1 but were able to jump ahead of first-place, and in-state rival, Albertson SC, which drew 0-0 with Vancouver. They will meet Shattuck St. Mary’s in the U-17/18 final. Saturday’s championship match takes place at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 20, at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo.
Shattuck-St. Mary’s Soccer Academy 2, De Anza Force 2: Shattuck-St. Mary’s needed just a draw to earn its place in the title game and they did just that in a nail-biting 2-2 draw with De Anza Force. Team goal-scoring leader Michael Bajza scored from the penalty spot for the second consecutive game and put Shattuck ahead early. De Anza would find the equalizer from defender Geoffrey Dunn before he was dismissed by a straight red card just moments later. Despite playing down a man, the Force rallied and overcame yet another deficit to tie the score at two apiece in stoppage time. De Anza nearly found the miracle win in the closing moments, but Jason Romero’s free kick from 25 yards out went off the cross bar and fell harmlessly out of play.
Albertson SC 0, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0: Albertson was in the driver’s seat heading into the final day pending a victory, but the New York-based side played a closely contested scoreless draw against Vancouver. Albertson will now face De Anza Force in the third-place game on Saturday while the Whitecaps meet St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri in the fifth-place match.
St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri 3, New England Revolution 1: Austin Panchot’s 10th-minute tally proved to be the game-winner as SLSG Missouri closed out the group stage with its first win of the competition and a spot in the fifth-place game against Vancouver. Conner Sendobry got SLSG on the board early with a strike in the fourth minute. Following Panchot’s tally, the Revolution got one back from Zachary Herivaux to make it 2-1 heading into halftime. Two minutes after the break, Brian Hail gave SLSG a cushion and moved into third place in its group ahead of New England.
