Development Academy: Colorado Rapids U-16s move into first place tie
By Jimmy LaRoue
With a 4-0 win over Texas Rush, Colorado Rapids’ U-16 Development Academy team has moved into a first place tie in the Central Conference’s Frontier Division with Sporting Kansas City, both teams having won its first three league games.
The Rapids went up early on Texas Rush on a 3rd minute goal from Dakota Peterson, and tacked on a second goal from Hayden Heinrich just before halftime.
Two goals in the space of six minutes sealed the match for the Rapids, as Jovanni Chavez and Gustavo Montes extended the lead to what would be the final margin.
Chavez leads the team with four goals, while Montes’ goal was his third of the season, and Heinrich’s his second.
Sporting Kansas City was off last weekend and resumes with a home game Saturday against Andromeda FC.
FC Dallas, meanwhile, opened the season with a thorough 5-0 win over Classics Elite, getting four goals in the first 25 minutes of the match to cruise. Sergio Lara got FC Dallas on the board in the 9th minute, followed by Antonio Aguilar four minutes later, and Alex Radilla in the 18th minute. Aaron Meyer scored again for FC Dallas in the 25th minute, while Sergio Caballero picked up the final tally in the 62nd minute.
Out in the Western Conference’s Southwest Division, Real Salt Lake AZ’s U-16s received a hat trick from Sebastian Saucedo and a brace from Justen Glad in a 7-2 win over Chivas USA to move to 3-0-0 and first place.
Glad opened the scoring in the 19th minute, and five minutes later Saucedo got the first of his three goals. Brooks Lennon put RSL AZ up 3-0 in the 30th minute.
An exchange of goals between Saucedo and Chivas USA’s Axel Mendez in the 35th minute put the match at 4-1 in favor of RSL AZ.
Saucedo’s third goal of the game in the 48th minute, followed by Josh Doughty’s 52nd minute goal, extended RSL AZ’s lead to 6-1. Jorge Ruiz pulled one back for Chivas USA in the 58th minute before Glad tacked on his second of the game in the 66th minute.
Saucedo now has five goals on the campaign.
In the East Conference’s Atlantic Division, D.C. United’s U-16s moved to 4-0-0, rallying from a one-goal deficit with second half goals from Julian Cummings and Steven Gandy to stay undefeated.
Baltimore Bays Chelsea’s U-16s, meanwhile, picked up their third win in three games, defeating Players Development Academy 3-0 behind two goals from Abdallah Bangura in the 60th and 70th minutes. Bangura has four of the team’s five goals this season.
In the Northeast Division, Albertson SC has won its first three games of the campaign without giving up a goal–in its last two matches, against South Central Premier on Sept. 15 and Met Oval last Saturday, Albertson scored four goals in each match.
Against Met Oval, Albertson got a brace from Arthur Bosua (20th, 55th minutes), along with goals from Christian Moyse (18th minute) and William Botty (34th minute).
Albertson’s U-18s have also started well. After an opening day tie against Montreal Impact, Albertson has scored two consecutive wins, including a 6-1 take down of Met Oval last Saturday.
Jeongho Ahn opened the scoring for Albertson in the 23rd minute, while Gonzalo Rodriguez picked up two goals in four minutes, and Christian Mosqueira, Andrew Tinari and Jason Santos added second half goals. Jonathan Zvi got Met Oval’s only goal in the second half.
Albertson’s U-18s sit in a three-way tie for first at 2-0-1 with the New York Red Bulls and BW Gottschee Academy.
In other U-18 action, Chicago Magic PSG is now 4-0-0 and still unscored upon after a 3-0 win over FC Milwaukee in Mid-America Division action, getting goals from Kevin Goon, Matheau Rogers and Evan Brandon.
In the Southeast Division, CASL Chelsea FC Academy’s U-18s moved to 3-0-0 with two wins in Florida, 2-0 over Kendall SC Saturday and 2-1 over Weston FC the following day.
Thomas Labriola and Yanni Hachem picked up CASL’s goals Saturday, while Michael Hinkson and Kellen Foster scored for CASL Sunday. Foster’s goal in the 45th minute proved to be the game-winner. Hinkson opened the scoring in the 12th minute, with Weston’s Nicholas Pappacena scoring in the 21st minute.
Out west, the San Jose Earthquakes U-18s opened their season Saturday with a 5-0 win against Cal Odyssey. Emilio Huerta opened the scoring with two first half goals in the 20th and 30th minutes, with Jesus Garcia getting another one four minutes before halftime. Jorge Cendejas and Oliver Chew added goals in the second half to fuel San Jose’s win.
In the Southwest Division, four U-18 teams are tied at the top with 2-0-1 marks–Chivas USA, Real Salt Lake AZ, Strikers FC and LA Galaxy, while San Diego Surf is 1-0-2. Chivas USA and RSL AZ played to a scoreless tie Saturday. Strikers FC and Surf tied 1-1 and the LA Galaxy was off.
