U13s Win Twice in Dallas

The U13's at a tournament in Denver last year

Over the weekend, the Sporting Kansas City U13 Juniors went to Dallas to play in the 10th annual Michael Brown Winter Classic at Pizza Hut Park (home of MLS club FC Dallas). This was the team’s first tournament of the year.

The Juniors opened the tournament on Saturday against the local MLS Juniors squad, FC Dallas. Cole McLagan gave KC a 1-0 lead on a well-placed header at the beginning of the second half. FC Dallas came back to tie it, but the Juniors would regain the lead as Peyton Brown set up a cross to Logan Lucas with 10 minutes to go to secure a 2-1 win.

In the second game on Saturday, TFC 98 Royal proved to be a formidable opponent. Despite playing tough and organized soccer, the Juniors were unable to put one in the back of the net. The opposition finished with only one shot on goal, but that was all they needed as they won 1-0 and handed the Juniors their first loss of the tournament.

On Sunday against the DFW Tejanos, the Juniors had control most of the way, but were unable to take advantage until McLagan scored his second goal of the tournament with about 15 minutes to go on a cross from Dominick Parry. This started the scoring spree as three more goals ensued. Trevor Cissel had the goal of the match from 18 yards out, while Keaton Schieffer and Seth Hudson added insurance goals late. The defense and Paul Whitner deserve a mention after keeping a clean sheet for the 4-0 victory.

The Juniors finished up the weekend with a game against Solar, who are considered one of the top teams in the country at this age. It was a great match, with both sides playing good defense and giving it their all in the last match of the tourney. Unfortunately, Solar was able to put one in with less than two minutes to go which ended up being the game’s lone goal despite a great shot by Brown in the game’s final minute.

U13 Juniors Head Coach Dustin Ottesen said he was pleased with what he saw from the team at the tournament. “Overall it was a pretty successful weekend and the boys got four games against four quality teams,” Ottesen said. “It was a great test and chance to see where we stand against some of the best in the country.”