Video: SKC vs. San Jose

MLSSoccer.com is on site at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas for the 2011 U17 Generation adidas Cup and caught up with Sporting Kansas City Juniors Director of Coaching Jon Parry after the team's penalty shootout following a 4-4 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday night.

Hear what Jon had to say about the tournament, which features nearly every MLS academy team, and see footage from the shootout with some impressive saves by goalkeeper Evan Wright.

Shootout vs San Jose at GA Cup

Photos taken by Rick Yeatts

Sporting Kansas City and the San Jose Earthquakes lit up the scoreboard on Friday night at the 2011 U17 Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas as the two MLS academy teams combined for the highest scoring game of the tournament thus far in a 4-4 draw that ended with Sporting Kansas City prevailing 5-4 on six rounds in the penalty shootout.

After falling behind 2-0 in the game's opening minutes, Sporting Kansas City fought back to even the score at 2-2 as Eric DeJulio twice capitalized on corner kicks for the Juniors on each side of halftime. But San Jose responded instantly with the first of two second-half strikes as they re-gained their two-goal advantage and looked to have the victory sealed with the clock winding down.

But Sporting Kansas City came back in dramatic fashion as Nate Opperman scored twice in the final six minutes of the match to force the penalty kick shootout. The first goal came on an assist from Seo-In Kim, who cut inside and laid the ball back for Opperman to bury his shot from near the penalty mark. Then the equalizer was a long-range header from Opperman at the top of the penalty area that looped over the Earthquakes keeper off a cross from the right side.

Goalkeeper Evan Wright was again in between the posts for Sporting Kansas City's second penalty shootout of the tournament. After making three stops against the Seattle Sounders earlier in the week, Wright was again up to the test as he stopped two of San Jose's attempts. DeJulio clinched the victory with his converted penalty in the sixth round, after previous makes by Schrick, Lennon, Stanley and Opperman.

Sporting Kansas City will play their fifth and final match of the tournament against the Chicago Fire at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for updates or visit the tournament homepage on MLSSoccer.com.

PHOTOS: vs. Philadelphia Union

Some great shots courtesy of Rick Yeatts from last night's hard fought group stage finale against the Philadelphia Union at Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas) in the 2011 U17 Generation adidas Cup.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for updates from tonight's match as our academy returns to action against the San Jose Earthquakes at 6:30 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to play on Sunday against the victor between the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire.

U17 Juniors drop final group game in GA Cup

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors finished in third place in Group B at the 2011 U17 Generation adidas Cup after a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union on Thursday night in Frisco, TX. Two second half goals from the Union -- including the game-winner by Home Grown Player Zach Pfeffer -- proved to be the difference. With the third-place finish, the team will now face the San Jose Earthquakes, who finished third in Group A, tonight at 6:30pm at Pizza Hut Park. Follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for updates from Frisco.

Here is some very brief footage from last night's encounter.

Kempin leads U.S. U18 team to victory

UPDATE: Click here for the official match report from U.S. Soccer

Sporting Kansas City academy product Jon Kempin started and played the entire 90 minutes today in the United States Under-18 Men's National Team's 2-1 win over Georgia in the 2011 Northern Ireland Milk Cup. The win secured a third-place finish for the U.S. team, who went 2-0-1 at this year’s tournament after defeating Israel and drawing Mexico earlier this week. 

This was Kempin’s first appearance at the annual Milk Cup tournament, and the Sporting KC goalkeeper will now return to Kansas City to re-join his SKC teammates. Check back here as we will post photos and/or video highlights as they become available.

GA Cup Photos

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors have set up shop in Frisco, Texas for the 2011 U17 Generation adidas Cup this week. With two games already played and two more to go (beginning with the Philadelphia Union tonight at 8:15 p.m.), team admin Betsy Pollard was kind enough to share some behind-the-scenes shots of how the squad is entertaining itself when they're not busy battling other MLS teams, including their attendance at a special presentation by former U.S. Soccer star Jeff Agoos.

Check out the slideshow below and be sure to follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for even more timely Twitpics as all the action unfolds.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Kempin with U.S. U18s at Milk Cup

Sporting KC goalkeeper and former SKC Junior, Jon Kempin, is currently with the USMNT U18 side that will play for third place in the Northern Ireland Milk Cup on Friday. The team beat Israel 2-0 on Monday and came from behind to tie Mexico 1-1 on Wednesday. The US team will play Georgia for third place on Friday, and Kempin could get his first minutes of the tournament then. For scores and updates from the game on Friday follow @ussoccer_ynt on Twitter. For more Milk Cup news and information check out http://www.nimilkcup.org/.

Photos: U17s vs Seattle Sounders

Check out some great shots of last night's 2-2 draw as our academy team faced off with the Seattle Sounders at the U17 Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Big thanks to Rick Yeatts and the FC Dallas Communications department for providing us with photos this week! 

The team is resting today in preparation for the final group stage game on Thursday against the Philadelphia Union. The group is wide open as all four teams fight for positioning before the placement matches on Friday and the final day of tournament competition on Sunday. Group B standings are below...

Club	G	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
FC Dallas	2	1	0	1	4	2	2	5
Philadelphia Union	2	1	0	1	1	0	1	4
Sporting Kansas City	2	0	1	1	4	6	-2	2
Seattle Sounders	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1	1

U17s get past Seattle on PKs

After a 2-2 draw in regulation on goals from Nate Opperman and Clay Stewart, the Sporting Kansas City juniors defeated Seattle in a PK shootout last night at the U17 Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, TX! Jojo Piatczyc converted in the 7th round, which followed 2 saves by GK Evan Wright!

Today, the guys have a day off to rest for tomorrow's final group stage match against the Philadelphia Union. The game will begin at 8:15pm at Pizza Hut Park. Be sure to follow along on Twitter via @SKCJuniors for updates throughout the U17 Generation adidas Cup!

Here's video (though a bit far away) from last night's shootout:

SKC Juniors vs FC Dallas Photos

Check out these shots of the U17 Juniors from their match versus FC Dallas yesterday in the Generation adidas Cup! Photos taken by Rick Yeatts


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

SKC Juniors fall to FC Dallas, face Seattle tonight

The U-17 team lost 4-2 last night to FC Dallas, despite two goals from Steven Enna in the second half. The guys will play Seattle tonight at 6:30pm, so make sure to follow @SKCjuniors on Twitter to see how they're doing!

US U-18 Mens Team Begin Northern Ireland Milk Cup

UPDATE: The U.S. defeated Israel 2-0 today on goals from Jerome Kiesewetter and Omar Salgado.

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The United States Under-18 Men's National Team will face Israel today at noon, and Mexico on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Head coach Mike Matkovich's squad will play it's final game on Friday, against an opponent to be determined.

Sporting Kansas City academy product Jon Kempin will begin today's game on the bench, behind GK Cody Cropper. For live play-by-play and in-game updates, be sure to follow the action on Twitter @ussoccer_ynt

SKC begins U17 Generation adidas Cup

The Sporting Kansas City Juniors will begin the U-17 Generation adidas Cup today at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The squad starts the tournament with a match against hosts FC Dallas tonight at 8:00 p.m. CT. The team will then play Seattle tomorrow (7/26) at 6:30 p.m. CT and Philadelphia at 8:15 p.m. CT on Wednesday (7/27).  The Sporting Kansas City U-17s will be competing in a field that includes teams from 15 other MLS clubs.

Follow @SKCJuniors on Twitter for updates throughout the week and visit the official tournament homepage at www.mlssoccer.com/generationadidascup.

Jon Kempin to play in Milk Cup with U.S. U-18s

Sporting KC goalkeeper and former Junior, Jon Kempin, has been named to the USMNT U18 roster for the 2011 Northern Ireland Milk Cup. Kempin is one of nine MLS players selected for the eighteen player roster. The tournament will be held from July 21st to the 30th. The U.S. team’s first game will be against Israel on July 25th, followed by a meeting with Mexico on the 27th.

Click here for an interesting article that compares Kempin to German great, Oliver Kahn.

Six Juniors Appear in Reserve League

Sporting Kansas City played their first MLS Reserve League match at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on Tuesday morning and six of our Juniors players got onto the field alongside academy products Jon Kempin and Kevin Ellis and the rest of the Sporting KC squad. Congrats to Eric DeJulio, Paul Oliver, Derek Schrick, Jacole Turner, Nate Opperman and Seo-In Kim for the call-ups!

Read the full recap on SportingKC.com and check out the slideshow below for dozens of photos of the Juniors in action, courtesy of Taylor Allan.


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GK Jon Kempin joins U.S. U-18 Men's National Team

Jon Kempin, a product of the Sporting Kansas City Juniors academy, is set to join the U.S. U-18 Men's National Team roster. Head coach Mike Matkovich announced on Wednesday that Kempin would be one of two goalkeepers on the roster for the upcoming Northern Ireland Milk Cup, scheduled to be July 21st-30th. Congrats, Jon!

Turner named to All-Central Conference Starting XI

Sporting Kansas City Juniors goalkeeper Jacole Turner has been named to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy All-Central Conference Starting XI for the 2010-2011 season. The U16s standout and soon-to-be senior at Lee's Summit North H.S. was one of four MLS academy players honored in the Central Conference. Congrats Jacole!

Click here to see the full list of honors on USSoccer.com.

2011 Generation Adidas U-17 Cup

The details for the 2011 Generation Adidas U-17 Cup have been announced. Our SKC Juniors will take on the Seattle Sounders, Philadelphia Union, and FC Dallas Juniors teams in Group B. The tournament takes place at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The times and dates of our group games are listed below.

July 25, 8:15pm vs. FC Dallas

July 26, 6:30pm vs. Seattle Sounders

July 28, 8:15pm vs. Philadelphia Union


Here’s a cool video from MLSsoccer.com of the teams being drawn into their tournament groups:

2011-12 USSDA schedules announced

Regular season schedules for the 2011-2012 U.S. Soccer Development Academy have been announced. Both our U16s and U18s SKC Juniors will again be members of the Central Conference of the Frontier Division, in a regular season spanning from November 2011 to June 2012. Both SKC Juniors teams will play 18 games in league play; 10 at home and 8 away.

For detailed schedules click on:
U16s
U18s

Get to know...Sporting Juniors

By: Betsy Pollard

Another season of youth soccer has wrapped up in The Sporting Juniors world.  We ended with two teams in Wisconsin competing in Regionals and two team in Texas competing in Playoffs and the Showcase. I traveled with the U18s and U16s to Frisco, TX for the Academy Playoffs and Showcase.

A lot of what we post is results but I would like to give you a small glimpse on items you may or may not know about Academy trip and interesting facts about our youth players.  In other words this post may bore you to death or you may find it interesting.

• The last hotel we stayed at was Aloft (shown on right) and it was a favorite amongst the players
• We always rent four 15-passenger vans once we land in our destination. Coach Rideout and Pardo usually drive the U18s, and Coach Parry and I drive the U16s
• Auxiliary cords are a MUST…thats the cord that goes from the van’s stereo to your iPod.
• Fruit chews are like GOLD, they are probably the most popular snack I purchase. A close second is the small Tangerines, sometimes referred to as “cuties.”  The snacks are usually in my room and the boys come and get snacks, water and Gatorade as they please.
• 8-10 cases of both Gatorade and water is a must
• The best way to pass time is playing Fifa on Xbox or renting Redbox movies
• I always learn a few new hip words on each trip or ways to use normal words in a hip way…a few this time was “fire” (see example below) and “shredding”
• For example, in the last U18s match Sporting Juniors “shredded” Chicago Magic or today the Juniors were just “shredding”!

Things you didn’t or maybe you did know about the U18s

• Tommy Adams is the supplier of the Xbox and eats a lot of meatballs whenever we get them for dinner
• Konner takes a lot of pride in keeping our bench cleaned when he is injured and unable to play
• Ray Lee never is referred to as just Ray…his full name is used almost always.  He usually has his clippers with him…in case you need a quick trim
• If we ever have a meal at Chipotle; Nick Row is the first to ask “can we get sour cream”?
• AB (Andrew Brown) is the most relaxed person/player I have ever been around -- very easy going except when Will is beating him in the “Sock Em” boxing game in the hotel lobby
• Kempin is a Pro… (maybe you already knew that)
• Marques (Mayoras) loves techno music and he just recently attend an eight hour rave
• Paul Oliver is one of the happiest people I have ever met who loves to eat tangerines
• “G” (Garret) loves shoes and probably has more shoes then most females which would include 15+ pairs of cleats alone
• Jordy hates bug as much as I do…especially June Bugs
• Kiwi (Andrew Mobberely) can break dance with his fingers (more on that later)
• Roms (Romeo Munoz) speaks Spanish on the field to Kiwi as Kiwi is from NZ but also speaks fluent Spanish
• Will (Witherspoon) loves heavy metal music.  He also isn’t afraid to throw out a free style rap line here and there

Things you didn’t or maybe you did know about the U16s

• Luke (Blackwell) is going to grow his hair out but not as long as it was (see photo) and he really wants to go to college on the East Coast
• DeJulio is the only player who started in all the games he played in.  He is also the captain of the team
• Daniel (Hare) made a big purchase of real Ray-Ban sunglasses this past weekend
• Hill (Ryan) has decided that he wants to be a Marine -- he is only going to be a junior in HS
• Leichty’s freekick was so “fire” against IMG.  This is the second time he has hit a “fire” freekick like that.
• Seo has the softest skin ever...I’m talking softer than a new born.  It is incredible
• Nate (Opperman) has a corky sense of humor and is so dang fast
• Jules (Ramirez) is a man of few words but likes apples just as much as I do
• Schrick is my co-pilot he always sits shotgun in my van and controls the Garmin
• Luke (Stanley) is a talented snow skier and like to wear dress socks under his shinguards and game socks

• Clay (Stewart) is the president of the make-believe gang called Swope Park Rangers (we get bored in airports…so funny things happen...like getting my eyebrows stringed)
• Tuso really wants to get his ear’s pierced
• Evan (Wright) thinks his GK Uniform of white jersey, white shorts and white socks makes him look like a cow
• Jacole can eat more than anyone I have ever seen…on the last day we went to In & Out and he had a 4x4; which is 4 beef patties and 4 pieces of cheese.
• Wes (White) has the best fo-hawk and plays better when his hair is done correctly
• Zembas just got a 35 out of 36 on his ACT (crazy smart)