FRISCO - After 120 minutes of soccer at a packed Toyota Soccer Center Thursday night, FC Dallas found a game-winner with less than 15 minutes remaining to defeat Sporting Kansas City and send the FC Dallas U-18s to California where they’ll try to defend their 2015 USSDA National Championship.
In the 108th minute, with tired legs abound and an increasing physicality and feistiness, forward Giovanni Montesdeoca cleaned up a loose ball in the box to score the game’s first and only goal in a 1-0 victory for his side.
FC Dallas had beaten Sporting KC 6-0 previously this season, but the visitors were anything but a pushover with a trip to the semifinals on the line.
“Tactically, Sporting Kansas City did a great job on us, playing with five in the back, they had a very fast, speedy team and that was working in their favor,” U-18s coach Francisco Molina said after the game, which featured his team coming out victorious on his birthday.
Kansas City posed their biggest threat in their counter-attack game, but FC Dallas held most of the possession and clear chances Thursday night, including two shots that careened off the crossbar –– especially two in the final ten minutes of regulation that were launched from outside of the box.
Montesdeoca and his team were starting to lose energy as the game’s final moments approached but he credited his coaches for the encouragement they received at the end of regulation.
“When the game ended,” said Montesdeoca, “the coaches kept telling us 'keep going, keep going, keep pushing' and that's what we did –– we never gave up.
We wanted to go back to Cali again and defend our national championship and we did it all today.”
The win allows FC Dallas U-18s to join their U-16 counterparts in Carson, California in the USSDA Semifinals, with a shot at bringing home a second consecutive championship trophy.
In a game where emotions were at their maximum, Molina trusted the composure of his team, as they tried to hold on to their lead in the game’s final moments.
“I think that the guys who were on the field here at the end,” Molina said, “those are guys who have been there and done that already. As long as we didn't make any mental mistakes, which this team is used to not doing that –– they're very professional when it comes to those –– I felt good about our chances.”
Backed by a rowdy group of fellow academy players, parents and fans, the support for the team was palpable –– something the team felt.
“It's awesome,” Montesdeoca said. “Just having that fan base behind us, that gave us a little push today to win the game.”
Molina, who reminded his players to stay humble, noting that their work wasn’t finished, saw Thursday night’s result as a representation of the FC Dallas academy as a whole.
“Our program is about family,” Molina said. “We share the locker room, they're together all the time so they know what it takes so, they love each other.
“They're a family, I'm very proud of the program at this moment.”