U-15/16 Development Academy: Houston contingent braves weather to kick off Finals Week
HOUSTON – The 2012-13 Development Academy Finals Week saw an impressive crowd on hand with two of their local squads kicking off the event.
With a packed sideline of hundreds of spectators, the local derby between the Houston Dynamo and Texans SC Houston took in an eventual scoreless draw at the U-15/16 age group on Sunday at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.
The crosstown rivals were not driven away by the multiple delays as lightning strikes stopped the first day of Finals Week.
Solar Chelsea SC 2, Crew Soccer Academy Wolves 1: Solar Chelsea SC and Crew Soccer Academy Wolves seemed destined for a draw when Kalenga Selemani found the back of the net to equal the score at 1-1 in the 80th minute. The excitement for Crew Wolves was short-lived as Brock Dudley tallied for the second time in 20 minutes to give Solar Chelsea a 2-1 win and three points to start Finals Week. Dudley had the game’s first goal in the 60th minute.
Real Salt Lake AZ 3, Albertson SC 1: Real Salt Lake AZ tallied twice in a 10-minute span to break a 1-1 deadlock in the second half against Albertson SC. Three different players found the back of the net for Salt Lake in the 3-1 victory: Diego Silva, Jose Hernandez and Sebastian Saucedo. Arthur Bosua scored Albertson’s lone goal in the 59th minute.
De Anza Force 2, Colorado Rapids 2: De Anza Force had a 2-0 advantage with nearly an hour gone in its opening match against the Colorado Rapids. Edward Venta-Yepes scored to cut the lead in half in the 57th minute, and Jovanni Chavez tallied for the second time in as many games to force a 2-2 draw and salvage a point in group play. Aravind Sivakumar and Carlos Delgadillo each scored for De Anza Force.
U-17/18: Shattuck Rallies with Last-Minute Winner Over Revs
The goals were flying for the U-17/18 age group in the opening day of the 2012-13 Development Academy Finals Week at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.
Shattuck Saint-Mary’s Soccer Academy had one of the more dramatic finishes of the first day, rallying from a 2-1 deficit with a 73rd-minute equalizer from Lucas Stauffer and a 90th-minute game-winning by Ricardo Lopez-Espin to earn a 3-2 victory. For Lopez-Espin, it was his second goal of the night. Christian Sady and Mawolo Gissie each had a goal for the Revolution.
Vancouver Whitecaps 3, Seattle Sounders 1: In a grudge match between Cascadia Cup rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps came away with a 3-1 victory in the third meeting this season between the teams. Regular-season leading goal scorer Brody Huitema found the back of the net on both sides of halftime and Marco Bustos sealed it with his 85th-minute strike to give Vancouver three goals and three points. David Olsen scored Seattle’s lone goal.
De Anza Force 3, St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri 1: De Anza Force found itself down three minutes into Finals Week when Zach Kavanaugh gave St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri a 1-0 lead. De Anza rallied back quickly with the equalizer in the 13th minute, and the go-ahead goal eight minutes after that. Nicholas Lima added another for the Force in the 85th minute for the 3-1 win.
Albertson SC 3, New York Red Bulls 3: The third local derby of the night saw the highest scoring result of Day 1 of Finals Week. The back-and-forth battle between Albertson SC and the New York Red Bulls saw both teams hold a one-goal lead at one point in the contest. With the score tied 2-2 at halftime, Albertson’s Jeongho Ahn struck early in the second half to earn a 3-2 lead. The Albertson defense kept the Red Bulls at bay until the 85th minute when Jhon Estama found the equalizer in the dramatic 3-3 draw. Albertson’s Brett Nason had the game’s first goal while Alex Muyl scored twice in the first half to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 lead through 23 minutes.
