Tuesday, May 31, 2011

 U13s Dominate KCI Tournament

The Sporting KC Juniors U13 team had another fantastic weekend in the KCI Tournament. Despite playing a year up in the U14 Boys Gold Division, the U13s were able to win the championship game by defeating KCFC Liverpool by an astonishing score of 7-1. This was the U13s second match against KCFC Liverpool; the first being a 1-0 win a day earlier. The U13s won two other games over the weekend against KC Fusion Academy and Blue Valley Tigers.

The month of May couldn't have gone better for the U13s as they played a year up in two different tournaments and they were able to win all 8 games in each one. Their total record for the month is an excellent 9-0. With a great showing this weekend, the Sporting KC U13s are now preparing for the State Cup which begins in two weeks.

Below are a few pictures of the U13s from earlier this month:




Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Friday, May 27, 2011

 3 Juniors called up for Colorado reserve match

The SKC reserves are in Colorado on Sunday, and three Juniors have made the roster. Each player selected has been called up before, with Wes White and Nate Opperman featuring in previous matches. Wes White looks to continue his streak of getting into each reserve match this season, while Nate Opperman hopes to make his first reserve appearance since the Houston Dynamo match in early April. Eric DeJulio was selected but did not play in the last match in Chicago.

The game is set for 12pm on Sunday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Follow @SKCgameday for live twitter updates.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

 U13's and U15's in Kansas City Invitational

The Sporting KC Juniors U13’s and U15’s are back in action this weekend, taking part in the Kansas City Invitational. The U13’s, who will be playing a year up in the U14 Boys Gold pool, have three group games scheduled:

• Saturday at 7:30am vs. Blue Valley White Tigers
• Sunday at 7:45pm vs. KCFC Liverpool 96/97
• Monday at 10:30am vs. KC Fusion Academy

The top two teams in the group will advance to the finals, scheduled for Monday afternoon. All games will be held at the Overland Park Soccer Complex.

The U15’s will also be playing a year up in the U16 Boys Gold pool. They will be playing four group games, with the team with the highest total points being crowned champions.

• Friday, 9:30pm vs. 94-95 BGFC
• Sunday, 12pm vs. KCFC Arsenal
• Sunday, 6:15pm vs. Salina Speed
• Monday, 1:30pm vs. Futura Juventus

Like the U13’s, all U15’s games will be held at the Overland Park Soccer Complex.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

 U18 photos from Sunday

Here are some photos from the Sporting KC U18s vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro game this past Sunday:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

All photos taken by photographer Daniel Russell.

Monday, May 23, 2011

 U16s stay atop standings


In Sporting KC Juniors action, the U18s and U16s faced off against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro in two games on Sunday.

The U18s played first and fell a bit short from a win; losing to Scott Gallagher Metro 0-2. St. Louis was able to score fairly early in the match, with two goals in the 17th and 19th minutes of the contest. This loss dropped the U18s to third place.

The U16s fared a lot better in their match with St. Louis, winning 4-1. Starting off the game with an early goal in the 10th minute, the first place U16s were able to maintain their lead for the rest of the contest, scoring three more goals and only giving up one.

In other news, tryouts will begin today for the U16s and U18s and are going to go until Wednesday, May 25th. Tryouts will be from 5-7 PM for the U16s and from 7-9 PM for the U18s.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

 U18's and U16's host Scott Gallagher Metro on Sunday

After mixed results last weekend, the focus for both the U16’s and U18’s turns to St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro.

The second place Sporting KC Juniors U18’s look to return to winning ways at home on Sunday. They’ll face a St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro side currently sitting fourth place in the Frontier Division. This game is set for 10 a.m.

Following the U18’s match, the U16’s will host a matchup that features the Frontier Division’s first and last placed teams. Our SKC U16’s will be looking to feed off their great results from last weekend, and extend their lead at the top of the table. This match is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m.

Both games will be held at Sporting Club Training Center at Swope Park. As always, these matches are free, so come on out and watch our boys beat their cross state opponents.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

 Kempin headed to Portugal with U18 MNT

SKC goalkeeper and former SKC Junior, Jon Kempin, was selected for the U18 MNT that will travel to Portugal for the Lisbon International Tournament on Thursday. The Leawood, KS native was the first ever homegrown player signed by Sporting KC. He’ll hopefully be featuring in games against the Netherlands, Portugal, and Finland next week.

In other big news for next week - Sporting KC Juniors U18's and U16's tryouts are scheduled to take place Monday through Wednesday (23rd-25th) at Sporting Club Training Center at Swope Park.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

 Juniors Tuesday update

Sporting KC Juniors U16's defender Eric DeJulio and forward Wes White travelled with the senior team for their Reserve League match today in Chicago. White got into the match in the 81st minute -- his third straight appearance in the Reserve League -- and helped the team earn a 1-1 draw.
Check out this story from TopDrawerSoccer.com for another U16 SKC Junior that is getting some attention. Midfielder Derek Schrick is a co-captain and is tied for the team lead in goals scored.
Speaking of stats, Jordan Rideout is leading the U18’s with 9 goals so far, while Nate Opperman is leading the U16’s with 6.

Monday, May 16, 2011

 U13’s best cross city KCFC

The Sporting KC U13's hosted KCFC U13 boys this weekend at Swope Park. The game was a friendly between two of the best teams in the Kansas City area. The boys played very well from the open whistle putting 4 goals away before halftime. The Juniors closed out the second half with ease, hitting the back of the net 5 more times for a final tally of 9-1. The boys played some very good attacking soccer and got a very good result against a KCFC team that has a very good chance to be the Kansas State Cup champions.

 Juniors return from Colorado with mixed results

The Sporting KC U16 and U18 Juniors squads returned from Colorado late Sunday night with mixed results. The U16 side pulled out a 1-1 draw against Real Colorado on Saturday, and defeated Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre 3-1 on Sunday. Saturday’s goal came from Eduardo Moreno who would also score in Sunday’s match. Wes White and Nate Opperman tallied the other two goals against the Rush on Sunday. With the positive results the Sporting KC U16’s remain in first place in the Central Conference’s Frontier Division. Sporting are now 5 points clear of Scott Gallagher and 6 points clear of the third placed Colorado Rapids with 11 games played.

The U18’s had a bit of a tougher weekend, dropping results to Real Colorado (1-5) and Colorado Rush (0-2). The lone goal for the 18’s came from Garrett Pulliam. Despite the losses to the first and third placed teams, Sporting remains second in the Frontier Division. Sporting full team goalkeeper, Jonathan Kempin accompanied the U18’s to Colorado, starting both games.

Wes White and Eric DeJulio were called up for the reserve match in Chicago tomorrow at 11am. Stay close to twitter as we’ll be tweeting live updates throughout the match.

Friday, May 13, 2011

 Juniors head to Colorado

USSDA play gets underway once again this weekend in Colorado for the first-place Sporting KC U16 and U18 teams. The boys will be taking on Real Colorado and Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre.

Earlier in the season, the U18s were defeated by both teams, but didn't have a full squad at the moment. This time around, things will surely be different considering their current four-game win streak. As for the U16s, they picked up two wins and two clean sheets last time around against the Colorado clubs.

Check back next week for results, and in the meantime, here's a video of Jordan Rideout scoring the opening goal of last weekend's match against Shattuck-Saint Mary's. The U18s won the game 3-2.

 U13s dominate the weekend

Last weekend, the Sporting KC U13s competed in the U14 age group of the Midwest Mother's Day Classic at the Overland Park Soccer Complex. The boys more than held their own in a higher age bracket finishing with four wins and zero losses. They scored 15 goals while allowing zero en route to winning the tournament.

The highlight of the weekend was in the game against Azteca (Wichita) who finished second place in the state last year. SKC beat them 2-0 behind two goals from midfielder Dominick Parry. Goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made a slew of great saves in the game and throughout the weekend.

To catch the U13s in action, they'll be playing at the Sporting Club Training Center at Swope Park this Saturday at 1 p.m. against KCFC. The game is free so if you're looking for something to do before the senior team plays, this seems like the perfect option.

Monday, May 9, 2011

 Home Field Advantage

Another weekend, same results for the U18s. They were named Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week last week and followed suit with two more wins this past weekend.

At the Sporting Club Training Center at Swope Park, the U18s took out Minnesota Thunder 2-0 on Saturday and beat Shattuck-Saint Mary’s 3-2 on Sunday.

Tom Adams scored for the third straight game, opening with a goal in the second minute against the Thunder. Andrew Mobberley and Jordy Rideout also netted one goal apiece. Sunday's game-winner (broke a 2-2 deadlock) came in the last minute of stoppage time from Garrett Pulliam on a breakaway down the right side of the pitch. Nothing like a perfect ending to the weekend to bring the U18s into second place in the USSDA, one point behind Real Colorado.

The U16s dominated the Thunder on Saturday, beating them 3-0, a team they previously drew 0-0 in Minnesota. Captain Eric DeJulio scored the first goal of the game in the first half. From there, SKC rolled with Nate Opperman and Steven Enna also finding the back of the net. The U16s lost on Sunday 0-1 to Saint Mary’s, but still hold a nice four-point lead in the table.

Enna, along with Dante Guerrero, DeBray Hollimon, Joey Piatczyc, Cole Stevenson and Jake Wood were brought up from the U15 squad for the weekend since their team was off. Head Coach Jon Parry was pleased with how the younger kids performed when given the chance to play with the U16s.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

 U18s are team of the week

The Sporting KC U18s were named Top Drawer Soccer's team of the week in the Midwest Conference after traveling to St. Louis and beating the two SLSG teams without giving up a goal.

USSDA action continues this weekend at the Sporting Club Training Center at Swope Park with U16s and U18s doing battle against clubs from the north. The schedule is listed below:
  • Saturday, May 7th, vs. Minnesota Thunder
    • U18s at 10:00 a.m. CT
    • U16s at 12:30 p.m. CT
  • Sunday, May 8th, vs. Shattuck-Saint Mary's
    • U18s at 10:00 a.m. CT
    • U16s at 12:30 p.m. CT
The games are free so don't be afraid to come out and enjoy the weather and watch the future of Sporting Kansas City.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

 U15s get a promotion

The U15s finished out Midwest Regional League play over the weekend in Illinois with more wins, more points and a promotion. They beat Chicago Fire 3-2 and drew with SC Waukesha 1-1 on Saturday, but settled on top of the standings with a 2-0 win against FC Milwaukee on Sunday. Having dominated the division with a goal differential of +15, the SKC U15s will be promoted to the Premier Division.

Goals were scored by forward Cole Stevenson (one in each game), Joey Piatczyc (two) and Mason Leonard (one).

The U13s, the youngest of the Junior clubs was also in action in St. Louis with a few friendlies. They beat the SLSG Metro U13s 3-1, but lost to the two SLSG U14 clubs in their other matches. Nevertheless, it was a good challenge for the team and the kids played well against the older boys.

Don’t forget to check out the SKC Reserves match at Swope Park this morning at 11:30 a.m. CST. Two Juniors, Seo-In Kim and Wes White are in the lineup, so make sure to catch the young guys in action.

Monday, May 2, 2011

 USSDA Weekend Results

The SKC Juniors traveled to St. Louis this weekend for USSDA action. It was mostly a good trip for the teams as the U18s got back on track with two wins and two clean sheets. After a run of three straight poor results, it looks like they have things under control.

The U18s beat St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro 2-0 on Saturday and SLSG Missouri 3-0 on Sunday. This is a week after losing to the same Missouri team, 1-3 at home. Tom Adams came away with a goal in each match. Shane Bowlen, Garrett Pulliam and Will Witherspoon also scored on the weekend. Jon Kempin started in net both games and recorded two clean sheets, not a bad showing for the USA U18 call-up.

Photo Credit: Daniel Russell

The U18s now sit at third in the standings with the two weekend wins.

The U16s weren’t as successful, but were still able to pick up some road points. They beat SLSG Metro 2-0 and lost to SLSG Missouri 1-3. Nevertheless, the U16s were still able to retain their spot in first place.

After making his first appearance last week in over a year because of injury, Chris Tuso scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. Daniel Hare and Wes White were the other U16 scorers on the weekend with Jacole Turner picking up the clean sheet against SLSG Metro.