Juniors back on the pitch

It's sure to be an exciting weekend with all Juniors teams in action.

The U16s and U18s travel to St. Louis to face both Scott Gallagher clubs there. They play Metro on Saturday and Missouri (who each team just played last Saturday) on Sunday. These games are a part of USSDA league play where the U16s sit in first and the U18s are looking to get back on track after dealing with injuries and Reserve team call-ups over the last few weeks.

It's a big weekend for the U15s who head to Rockford, IL for a trio of matches that could place them atop the Midwest Regional League leader board. Sporting KC is currently undefeated in four games with a hefty goal differential of +12. They'll play Chicago Fire and first-place SC Waukesha on Saturday and finish up against FC Milwaukee Sunday morning.

The U13s also travel to St. Louis and play in a slew of friendly's. They play three games over Saturday and Sunday against the SLSG Metro and Missouri clubs.

Make sure to check back next week for results.

Twitter Craze

If you haven't heard about the twitter competition between Sporting Kansas City's Teal Bunbury and New York's Juan Agudelo, it's time you got in the loop. The player with the least Twitter followers by Saturday's game, has to wear the winner's jersey for an entire day while tweeting photos of himself in it.

Make sure to follow @TealBunB to help the cause.

While the Juniors aren't having Twitter battles with their opponents, there are still quite a few players with accounts. You can find them listed below.

DeBray Hollimon - @nameDH19
Garrett Pulliam - @GPulliam5
Jacole Turner - @makeitniceking
Jon Kempin - @JonKempin21
Jordan Rideout - @_J_R_9
Konner Knoll - @K_Knoll_SKC
Nate Opperman - @ntopperman

Rideout lasers one in (Video)

In case you missed the action at the Swope Park Training Facility, here's a video of Jordan Rideout's latest goal for the U18s. A nice rebound from a free kick against Real Colorado.


Check out another video of Michael Oakley on the wrong end of a challenge. The opposing player from Colorado Rush received a red card for the unfriendly tackle.

U15s continue to roll

The U15s kept their unbeaten streak going in Midwest Regional League play with a 4-1 win last Friday at Swope Park. They took down the previously unbeaten FC Porto, also of Kansas.

Steven Enna finished with a brace while Dante Guerrero and Cole Stevenson also found the back of the net.

The club now has three wins and one draw in four league matches. They will travel to Rockford, IL next weekend to face the Chicago Fire U15s.

U16s back in first place

The Sporting KC U16 squad beat previous first-place holders, St. Louis Scott Gallagher, 1-0 at Swope Park on Saturday.

It was a back and forth game, with neither team being able to capitalize until Nate Opperman broke loose early in the second half. The in-form Opperman, who also featured in the senior team's reserve squad against Houston two weeks ago, scored for the second straight USSDA match, tucking his right-footed effort inside the far post just after the halftime break. The Player of the Match goes to Evan Wright who made many key saves, including multiple diving stops in stoppage time.
The U16s now have four wins and one draw in league play and have not allowed a goal in their five games played.

Things weren't as easy for the U18s, as they lost 1-3 to St. Louis Scott Gallagher, who is also in first place. Will Witherspoon grabbed the squad's lone goal.

It was a very even game, with each team getting an equal amount of chances on net. The only difference was that SLSG found the back of the net more often than not.

The clubs will face-off again next weekend in St. Louis.

Back in action

The U16 and U18 teams return to the pitch for USSDA action on Saturday. Each squad will face St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri at Swope Park Training Center. The U18s start at 1 p.m. CT and the U16s play right after at 3:30 p.m. CT.

SLSG sits at the top of the table in both age groups, so make sure to come out and support the youngsters before the Seniors game later in the day.

Pre-Tryout Camp is set

A Pre-Tryout Camp will be held from June 6^th-8^th for U13s and U14s. It will help prospective players sharpen their technical skills and mentally prepare for tryouts which are a week later.

The cost is $125 which includes a Sporting Kansas City Juniors t-shirt.

Registration and more information can be found here. The first 40 players to sign up will receive an adidas/Sporting KC backpack (shown on right).

Register now for Junior Tryouts

Players can now register to try out for all four Sporting Kansas City Junior teams. The tryouts will be at the end of May for the U16 and U18 teams and early June for the U13s and U14s. Exact dates and times, along with a link to register, can be found on the Juniors page.

The tryouts have no fee and will be held at Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park.

U15s undefeated on weekend

At the Overland Park Soccer Complex this weekend, the SKC U15s started the Midwest Regional League on the right foot, going undefeated in three matches.

After a 0-0 draw to start things off against the PSA Cosmos, they proceeded with a 8-2 win against Edina Swarm and a 3-0 shutout of the Minnesota Thunder Academy.

The U15s next match will be this Friday, the 22nd against FC Porto of Kansas U15. It will take place a 7 p.m. CT at Swope Park.

U15s start MRL play

The U15s are set to start league play this weekend in the Midwest Regional League. Matches will be played locally at the Overland Park Soccer Complex. These will be the first games played by the team under newly appointed Head Coach Jon Parry. The complete SKC schedule can be found below.

Saturday, April 16^th

• vs. PSA Cosmos (MN) at 1:15 p.m. CT
• vs. Edina Swarm (MN) at 7:00 p.m. CT

Sunday, April 17th

• vs. MN Thunder Academy 96 White (MN) at 11:15 a.m. CT

Come out and watch the future of Sporting Kansas City in action.

Haircuts on the road

When the Juniors aren't playing soccer, they are getting haircuts. Whether it's because they want to try and imitate some of the Senior players or just looking for something to do, it helps them shave down time on the road.

At least the new do's have helped the team on the pitch. The U16s were named Team of the Weekend in the Central Conference by Top Drawer Soccer. The Central Conference is the biggest of four conferences in the USSF and includes teams from a multitude of states like Michigan, New York and Texas.

The U13s, U16s and U18s get a much needed break this weekend while the U15s begin league play. The U16s and U18s will return to action on April 23^rd in USSF league play against St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri.

Youngsters travel with Reserve squad

Three Juniors traveled with the Reserve team on Sunday night to play in Sporting KC's first official Reserve match of the season against Houston Dynamo on Monday morning. Nate Opperman (U16), Wes White (U16) and Konner Knoll (U18) were the three selected. Opperman and White were both in the starting lineup at forward.

The game started at 10 a.m. CT. Follow @SportingKC and @HoustonDynamo on Twitter for live updates of the game.

U16s jump into first place

It was a successful couple days for the U16s at Swope Park. They finished the weekend with two wins and two clean sheets.

On Saturday, the U16s took out Real Colorado 3-0, and on Sunday they beat Coloradio Rush 2-0. Derek Schrick finished with three goals, while Cole Stevenson and Nate Opperman also found the back of the net.

The SKC U18s didn't have as easy of time as they are dealing with a few injuries to key starters. They lost to Real Colorado 2-3 on Saturday with Andrew Mobberely putting in both goals. Sunday wasn't any easier due to reserve call ups and a new injury to starting defender, Michael Oakley. They lost 1-5 to Real Colorado with the lone goal coming from Jordan Rideout.

U16s and U18s at Swope this weekend

The Sporting KC U16 and U18 Juniors will continue their busy schedules with their third and fourth matches of the USSF Development Academy season this weekend.

All games will be played at Swope Park Training Center. Each squad will face Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre on Saturday and Real Colorado on Sunday. The schedule is listed below:

• Saturday, April 9th:
• U18s vs. Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre at 11:30 a.m. CT
• U16s vs. Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre at 2:00 p.m. CT
• Sunday, April 10th
• U18s vs. Real Colorado at 10:30 a.m. CT
• U16s vs. Real Colorado at 1:00 p.m. CT

With the varsity club on bye this week, now's the perfect time to check out the SKC Juniors.

U13s continue to win

The U13s also traveled to Minnesota over the weekend to play in a couple of friendlies. The boys continued their excellent form by beating the Minnesota Thunder U14s 4-1 and the U13s 3-0.

Goals were scored by Logan Lucas, Seth Hudson, John Leisman and Jacob Weaver in the first game. "The boys came out on fire and probably played the most complete game of the season," said Head Coach Dustin Ottesen.

In the second game, Logan Lucas scored his second of the weekend, while the next two were provided by Dakota Karns after he drew a penalty kick and Absalom Solario.

The U13s have played 11 games over the past month with only one loss and nine wins.

Success in Minnesota

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors made their way up north to Minnesota this past weekend and were met by a framed Teal Bunbury jersey as they entered the Shattuck St. Mary's soccer dome (Bunbury attended the high school there). Maybe a little inspiration from the senior team member was all that was needed for a successful weekend for the squads.


On Saturday, the U18s tied Shattuck St. Mary's 2-2. Andrew Mobberley, a new member of the team from New Zealand, recorded his first assist with the club. They then played the Minnesota Thunder on Sunday and came away with a 3-2 win. Jordan Rideout and Will Witherspoon each had two goals on the weekend, as Tom Adams also scored and had an assist.

The U16s won 2-0 on the first day and drew with the Thunder 0-0 on Sunday. Wes White and David Leichty each had goals in the win. This was the continuation of US Soccer Development Academy play for the U16s and U18s and marked their first games of the 2011 calendar year.

The teams will have their first home matches of the season against Colorado Rush and Real Colorado this weekend at the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park.

U.S. Developmental Academy gets underway

The U16s and U18s travel to Minnesota this weekend for matches against Shattuck-Saint Mary's and Minnesota Thunder. This is the start of the spring session of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

The second half of the season consists of 14 games against clubs from Colorado, Minnesota and St. Louis.

Also in Minnesota this weekend, the U13s will be playing the Thunder on Saturday and Sunday in a couple friendlies.

Check back next week to see how the Juniors fared.