FRISCO - As the fall schedules wind down for the FC Dallas Academy teams, there's one last competition on the horizon for the U-19s and U-17s before the winter break.
It's time for the annual U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase, taking place in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. from Nov. 30-Dec. 2. Each of the FCD Boys' Academy teams will play a trio of games against teams outside their region that they normally wouldn't get to face in regular season play.
"We're looking forward both the 17s and 19s playing against stiff competition in a higher-stakes atmosphere. It's an opportunity where U.S. Soccer matches us against other top seeds and these teams want to beat us and put a target on our back in terms of seeding," Academy Director Luchi Gonzalez said. "We get to play in front of scouts for the National Team and colleges across the country and showcase our team concepts, our talent and our competitive spirit. The boys are ready, they're prepared and we always look forward to this opportunity."
With a 6-3-0 record on the year and coming in as the No. 11 team in the country, the U-19s start things off on Thursday morning against the No. 2-seeded NYCFC, who has just a single loss to its name this season with an 8-1-1 record. The oldest group will then face the Montreal Impact (7-2-0), the fourth-best team in the nation, on Friday afternoon before finishing up against Pateadores (3-0-3), who are the No. 17-ranked team.
| U-19 Academy Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time (CT) | Opponent | Info |
| Nov. 29 | 9 AM | NYCFC | W, 5-2 |
| Nov. 30 | 3:15 PM | Montreal Impact | D, 2-2 |
| Dec. 2 | 8 AM | Pateadores | W, 5-1 |
U-19 RESULTS:
- FCD took a 5-2 win, handing NYCFC just its second loss of the season on Thursday morning. Johan Gomez had a brace, with goals also coming from Homegrown Thomas Roberts, Dante Sealy and Edwin Cerrillo.
- Dante Sealy came off the bench in the second half and scored in the 71st and 86th minutes to earn the 19s a point in a 2-2 draw after trailing 2-0.
- The 19s had five different goal scorers as they took a 5-1 win in their Showcase finale. Homegrowns Bryan Reynolds and Thomas Roberts tallied, as did Dante Sealy, Edwin Cerrillo and Johan Gomez.
The U-17s come into the weekend with a perfect 9-0-0 record and as the nation's top-seeded team. They'll open up their Showcase schedule on Friday against Baltimore Armour (4-4-1) before facing top other top-10 teams. On Saturday, U.S. Soccer will stream a meeting with No. 9 D.C. United (8-2-1) before the only two teams in the nation with a perfect record clash, facing the No. 2-ranked Philadelphia Union (9-0-0).
Dallas will be without the nation's leading scorer, Ricardo Pepi, who has 19 goals in eight games, as well as starting defender Jonathan Gomez, both of whom were called to the U.S. U-17 National Team for the Nike Friendlies, running concurrently with the Showcase in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
| U-17 Academy Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time (CT) | Opponent | Info |
| Nov. 30 | 8 AM | Baltimore Armour | W, 2-0 |
| Dec. 1 | 1 PM | D.C. United | W, 3-0 |
| Dec. 3 | 10:15 AM | Philadelphia Union | W, 3-2 |
U-17 RESULTS:
Michael Sosa
scored and
David Rodriguez
added his second of the weekend, but is was
Diego Letayf
's golazo that stole the show as the 17s topped DC United, 3-0, with all three tallies coming in a six-minute span
Stay tuned to this page all week long for the latest on the 2018 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase