FRISCO, Texas – Last team in, last team standing. That was the phrase the FC Dallas 96 Boys Premier team heard over and over again from head coach Scott Dymond as they competed – and won – Dallas Cup XXXII last week.
That’s because with only a week to go before the start of the international tourney, there were five FC Dallas teams scheduled to compete – and the 96s weren’t one of them, despite having a better record than several of their age group counterparts.
In short, Dallas Cup qualification rules weigh in favor of the host club, and it appeared the 96s would be bumped out of the competition as a result. It wasn’t until 48 hours before their first game kicked off that the squad finally found out they’d gotten in.
“We kept training just like we were going to be part of the event, we approached it like we were going to be a part of it,” said Dymond. “You have a feeling about these things and – because I thought we deserved to be in – I stayed very positive with the players and the parents and the team, and it worked out.”
Although they would go on to post four shutouts in six games and outscore their opponents four-fold on their way to the championship, the 96s’ Dallas Cup journey wasn’t without drama.
In the first half of their second game of the tournament – a 4-1 win over in-state MLS rival Houston Dynamo – co-captain Tanner Gardner suffered a head injury that kept him on the bench for the next two games.
“I’m a competitor and I want to be out there with my teammates, to lead them through my actions,” said the young forward. “It was hard not being able to lead by example, and just having to be on the bench and supporting from there. That was probably the hardest thing.
“I had to figure out a different way to lead the team other than playing on the field.”
Gardner’s return match would mark another dramatic chapter for the 96s. In the tournament semifinals they faced FC Golden State in a scoreless duel that would eventually be determined by a penalty kick shootout.
FC Dallas goalkeeper Mickey Raine stood tall as the uncontested man of the match after saving three of the four penalty kicks he faced to give his side the victory and a berth in the U-15 championship game Saturday afternoon.
The final match pitted Dallas vs. Dallas for the championship, as FCD took on their Metroplex rivals in league-leading Solar SC for the U-15 title. The 96s dominated in the final game, maintaining the advantage in possession and scoring chances for the full 90 minutes.
The first goal of the game came in the 27th minute after midfielder Antonio Aguilar mystified a handful of defenders on the right flank. Aguilar cut to his left to ditch three opponents and then struck a ball from outside the box that was too high for the jumping ‘keeper, tucking just under the crossbar to give FCD the 1-0 lead.
“We talk all the time about not being a player that just runs up and down, but to go outside, to go inside, to be unpredictable in the attacking third,” coach Scott Dymond said in response to Aguilar’s first half tally. “For me, it’s an unbelievable goal at any level.”
Aguilar would earn himself a brace in the second half after nodding home a cross teammate Nico Lozado-Smith sent in from the left side. The connection by the two youngest players on the squad would be the final goal of the game, as FC Dallas went on to defeat Solar SC 2-0 to with the Dallas Cup U-15 championship.
WATCH: Behind-the-scenes of the championship games for the 96s and 97s
“I’ve grown up here, I’ve been going to Dallas Cup games since I can remember,” Gardner said of taking home the title. “My parents would drop me off and I’d just sit up there and watch the Barcelonas and the Tigres and all those different teams from around the world. It definitely adds a lot after all those years of just sitting and watching, to actually be on that stage, it means a lot.”
And coach Scott Dymond, who also serves as FC Dallas Youth’s College Director, said that his team’s accomplishment – combined with the impressive 16-2-7 record posted by the six FC Dallas teams at this year’s Dallas Cup – is proof that the club is trending in the right direction.
“The club overall is taking great strides,” Dymond said. “From our youngest teams even to the U-18 Academy having the results they did against Barcelona and the Japanese National Team, these are world-class players who are professionals.
“It’s fantastic that the club is showing strength from our youth all the way through to our 18s. That’s only going to get stronger at FC Dallas.”
To find out how all the FC Dallas teams fared at Dallas Cup XXXII, visit FCDallas.com/DallasCup.