Video: Juniors Signing Ceremony

Sporting Kansas City held a special signing ceremony on Wednesday at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park for the SKC Juniors who have signed their National Letters of Intent to play college soccer this fall. Check out the video below to see footage from the event and hear from DOC Jon Parry, as well as future SMU Mustang Derek Schrick.

For more on Wednesday's gathering, check out Thad Bell's article on Examiner.com -- the first of several more on the Sporting KC Juniors youth development academy.

Hare & Schrick sign NLI's

Wednesday marked a major moment for several Sporting Kansas City Juniors players as the first day of February brought the NCAA's official signing day for high school seniors to sign their National Letters of Intent for college soccer. Sporting KC will hold a formal ceremony in two weeks at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park to recognize all the college commitments from our soon-to-be graduates and we'll have plenty of photos and video to share from that event.

Two of the college-bound Juniors are Rockhurst High's Daniel Hare and Derek Shrick, whose friends and family gathered yesterday for their school's signing ceremony, led by Hawklets Coach Chris Lawson.

Hare signed with Loyola of Chicago and Schrick will play for Southern Methodist University. After the signing, both the Hare family and the Schrick family shared their excitement and anticipation for the boys further success as they embark on the next step of their soccer and academic careers.

Adam Hare, a Rockhurst Alum, was in attendance wearing a Sporting KC windbreaker to support his younger brother, as he and the two signee's ensured they would continue to follow Sporting Kansas City and their voyage in 2012.

Check out the video below to see footage from the event:

KC Star All-Metro

Congratulations go out to all 15 Sporting Kansas City Juniors players chosen to the Kansas City Star's All-Metro Boy's Soccer teams. The selections were announced in Sunday's edition of the newspaper (shown on right), with our very own Derek Schrick being named the All-Metro boys soccer player of the year! Here's a rundown on the honorees:

First Team: FWD Shane Woods (Kearney, senior), MF Derek Schrick (Rockhurst, senior), MF Chris Tuso (Blue Valley NW, senior), Matt Peterson (Blue Valley North, junior), Clay Stewart (Olathe South, junior), GK Jacole Turner (Lee's Summit North, senior)

Second Team: FWD Steve Enna (St. James Academy, sophomore), MF Andrew Brown (St. Thomas Aquinas, senior), DEF Eric DeJulio (Blue Valley NW, senior), DEF Julian Ramirez (Blue Springs, junior)

Honorable Mention: FWD Garrett Pulliam (Blue Valley West, senior), MF David Leichty (Shawnee Mission South, junior), MF Joey Piatczyc (Lee's Summit, sophomore), MF Taylor Walter (Blue Valley, senior), GK Evan Wright (Blue Valley, senior)

Wright & Schrick All-Americas

Two Sporting Kansas City Juniors earned selection to the NSCAA 2011 Boys High School All-America Team for stellar performances with their respective high school sides.

Senior goalkeeper Evan Wright from Stillwell, Kansas earned his spot as an NSCAA All-America after a notable year playing for Blue Valley High School. Wright led Blue Valley to the 2011 Kansas State 5A Championship, clocking 1,855 minutes in 2011.

Wright played a particularly large role in the Kansas 5A quarterfinal match at St. Thomas Aquinas. Wright made a break-away stop on Aquinas senior Mikey Geist in the first 10 seconds of the match. Then in a penalty kick shootout, it was Wright again making two huge stops for the Tigers allowing for their 4-2 victory in penalty kicks.

Derek Schrick, senior midfielder and Kansas City native, guided Rockhurst High School to the District Championship game. Schrick made significant contributions to the success of Rockhurst who finished out their season with a 22-4-1 record. For his efforts, Schrick was named to the NSCAA All-America Team.

In addition to All-America honors, Schrick's performance throughout his senior season landed him NSCAA Boys High School Missouri State Player of the Year.

News and Notes

High school soccer season is in full swing as postseason competition is already upon us! Here is a sampling of some of the top news and notes from Sporting Kansas City Juniors players in the area...

• Check out the video below of Garrett Pulliam's goal and celebration in Blue Valley West's win over Bishop Miege.

• Derek Schrick and Jacole Turner each earned spots on the ESPNHS Starting XI as top high school players in the state of Missouri, and were also named to the top 150 college prospects for the Class of 2012. Fort Osage High School's Billy Vigil also received recognition on the list.
• Speaking of Schrick, ESPNHS talked to him and his Rockhurst teammates about the team yoga sessions they take part in. Check out the video and story here.
• Sporting Kansas City Juniors players Nate Opperman and Clay Stewart have been influential for Olathe South this season as they won the Summit League.
• Also in Kansas, Shawnee Mission South head coach Travis Gatewood credited SKC Juniors player David Leichty for his leadership on the team this season.
• At Blue Valley Northwest, two SKC Juniors are captaining a team with state ambitions as Chris Tuso is leading the team in goals and Eric DeJulio is anchoring the defense.
• Check out the news feature below on Liberal High School's 11th straight Western Athletic Conference title, courtesy of SKC Juniors player Eduardo Moreno's OT goal in a 1-0 win over Dodge City.

• On the local college scene, congrats to the UMKC duo of Jordan Rideout and Michael Oakley, who were both named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Top 20 Players to Watch in the Summit League. Rideout scored his third goal of the year in the Roos 1-1 draw at Oral Roberts on Saturday, while Oakley has started all but one game in defense as a freshman.

Jacole Turner honored

Congrats to Sporting KC Juniors goalkeeper Jacole Turner, selected as the Kansas City Star's High School Athlete of the Week. Read their bio on Jacole below, then also check out this feature in the Lee's Summit Journal earlier this week. Jacole, along with Juniors teammate Derek Schrick, were also both selected to the Missouri All-State Starting 11 by ESPNHS.

•SCHOOL: Lee’s Summit North

•YEAR: Senior

•SPORT: Boys soccer

Through 15 games, Turner, the Broncos goalkeeper, has racked up 11 shutouts and allowed only four goals. “He’s really athletic. He’s driven and over the course of his years here in high school, he has really made great strides,” Broncos coach Tim Richardson said. Turner recorded shutouts last week against Raytown South and Liberty. “He’s absolutely a key reason we are 14-1,” Richardson said. Turner is also a member of the Sporting Kansas City junior squad and occasionally is a reserve trainee with the team.

Turner was named to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy All-Central Conference Starting XI in July for his play with the U16s during the 2010-11 USSDA season, and started for Sporting Kansas City at the U17 Generation adidas Cup at Pizza Hut Park this summer.

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.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

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 81^st 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.

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.

Six Juniors to participate in reserve match

Six Juniors will participate in the Sporting Kansas City reserve match later today (Monday) at 3:30 p.m. CT. It is not open to the public, but it can be streamed online at Sporting85.com. The reserves will compete against the Kansas City Brass, a local USL Premier Development League club who play in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference.
Three U18s (Ray Lee, Michael Oakley, Jordan Rideout) and three U16s (Wes White, Derek Schrick, Seo-In Kim) will get a chance to play alongside Chad Ochocinco and the rest of the SKC reserve squad.

Check back here or at The Sporting Way to see how the Juniors and reserves fared.

Derek Schrick's Top 10 Goal

Check out the first of Derek Schrick's two goals on Friday at the 1:36 mark of U.S. Soccer's Top 10 Goals from Day 1 of the Development Academy Winter Showcase.

SUM CUP is in Full Swing

Derek Schrick scores on a free-kick against Galaxy for the game winner.



The KCW Juniors created a U17 team to participate in the annual SUM Cup tournament. We composed a team of current U18 and U16 players and then a few new players who just made the DA teams. The SUM Cup is a tournament that only MLS Juniors team participate in. This year it is in Houston, TX surrounding the ALL-STAR match.

We are in a difficult group with Galaxy, Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake. We were able to find success in our first game last night against Galaxy. We went down 0-1 in the first half and then game back to tie and then win the match 2-1 with both goals coming from Derek Schrick. All three goals, ours and Galaxy's goal all came from free-kicks

Unfortunately, one of our new players, Chris Tuso, got tackled and broke his ankle. He is in a splint right now and will be getting surgery in Houston on Monday. Lets hope for a speedy recovery as we need him back on the field.

We play Red Bulls tonight at 8pm. For updated info click here and for photos here!

Dallas Texans and Pool Work-Out

Last night the U16 Jrs took on the Dallas Texans who were the 2009 National Champs. It was a must win match if we wanted to have a chance to go on to the Finals. As we need to finish 1st in our group; so we need to win tomorrow and need Baltimore Bays to lose. Anyway, it took us about 25mins before we settled down and started actually moving the ball around and looking like a team. Shortly asfter Jordy Rideout scored a goal that was very similar to Friday's goal. Jon Kempin got the ball to Derek Schrick and Rideout chipped the keeper once again. The second half was very physical with Kempin making a few huge saves and one of their players getting a red card. The "extra time" of four minutes honestly felt like an HOUR. But we came away with a 1-0 victory.

Today we started with a pool workout that was comedy. We did jumping jacks, leg kicks, skipping all in the water and then ended the session with some relay races. Konner Knoll was an expert in the back stroke and Romeo Munoz really wanted NOTHING to do with swimming. All in all is was good to get the boys moving on their day off. The rest the day was spent at the mall, movies or visiting colleges (UNC & Duke).

We play Chivas USA tomorrow at 11am so stay TUNED.

Team Dinner and Baltimore Bays

We arrived here is Greensboro on Thursday Mid-day after a very early departure from MCI. Had a few problems at Enterprise Rental car (of course) before finally getting vehicles and driving to the hotel. Jimmy Johns is across the street from the Hyatt and has been the go-to for lunch. And man they are FAST.

Last night(Friday) we played our first match against Baltimore Bays the #1seed. The game was super intense from from the beginning and we got on the board first. Jordan Rideout chipped the keeper and the goal was big time. Minutes later we had a PK after their GK fouled us. Derek Scrick stepped up to take it, but unfortunately it was saved. A few minutes later...they got a PK on us after one of the Bays "flopped" inside our 18.

They converted the PK to equalize the match 1-1. Their were a couple more opportunities created by us in the second half by Lucas Throckmorton and Nate Opperman; but none went in. Bays had a free kick in about the 60min that they converted which made the score 1-2 which stood as the final. Such a bummer, our boys played so well and the game could have gone either way. Our defenders, especially Konner Knoll and Eric DeJulio played amazing along with keeper Jon Kempin.

We play Dallas Texans this evening and we just saw them eating Steak and Shake for lunch...hopefully it has an effect on them! haha

Slow to update on Chicago

AB scores the lone goal for us against Fire to win 1-0.

All-
So sorry it took me ages to write about last weekend, I just got caught up in ordering uniforms for next season and working on summer camp stuff....So here it goes:

For the third week in a row the Junior Academy teams are on the road. This week we're in Chicago to face division rival Chicago Magic (1-3-1) on Saturday and Chicago Fire (4-1-1) on Sunday. The U16s kicked up first and didn't not look great for the first half. They barely strung together more than 2+ passes and we went into half time 0-0 with Magic in complete control of the match thus far. After a few subs and a re-focused team the 2nd half was extremely different. We opened up scoring on a free kick that was taken by Derek Schrick and headed in by Konner Knoll. About 20mins later we were awarded a PK that was taken by Jordy Rideout. He followed his own shot and scored off the deflection. Final was 2-0

The U18 were and are down 5 players right now, everything from torn ACL to a broken foot. So with that said they had a tough weekend. During their match on Saturday, two players were red carded and the game was dominated by Magic. We did score one lone goal by Patrick Fogilo in the 27th min. The game ended with us losing 1-3 and with 8 field players.

Sunday's games were against the Chicago Fire Juniors. Both teams were very competitive and we went into half time with no score. A few minutes into second half AB scored the lone goal and won the game 1-0.

The U18s were not as lucky. With a smaller than usual roster due to red cards and injuries, we had a couple players from the U16s play with the older boys. The younger boys played their hearts out but Fire was just too tough. They scored two goals each half and the final score was 0-4...all FIRE.

This weekend (tomorrow) we play at home against St Louis Scott Gallagher MO. U18s kick off at 2pm and the U16s at 4pm. Come check it out!

Tough Games in Michigan...Happy to head Home...

The U18 & U16 Academy teams flew to Michigan last weekend to face Vardar and Derby County Wolves. The games on Saturday started well against Vardar but ended not so good for the U16s.

The U16 got on the board first against an extremely physical team with Derek Scrick scoring in the first 12mins on an open net. That lead lasted about 4min before Vardar equalized. The wind is favoring Vardar and they end scoring again before half. The Juniors started the second have down 1-2, but this time with the wind. Although the wind is providing us with opportunities to shot long range, it doesn't help enough and we were unable to capitalize. Vardar ends up scoring again and the game ends 1-3.

The U18 take the field next against Vardar and match up pretty well the fist half. Both teams are playing quite physical. At halftime the score is 0-0. Second half, Will Witherspoon gets on the board for us with about 15mins remaining in the second half and the U18 pull out a 1-0 victory. We are happy for Will that he scored but unfortunately he broke his foot in this match, which will be a huge loss.

On Sunday we are playing Derby County Wolves (DCW). The U16 start of well commanding the game from the start until a miss clearance lands at the feet of a DCW player and he smashes it in. About 10mins later we make another mistake and they capitalized and scored again. Our players are getting frustrated as we are controlling the game but they are packing it in defensively which makes it hard to penetrate. At half-time we are down 0-2. Their fast forwards are a tough match-up and they open up the 2nd half with a quick goal and we go down 0-3. Coach Parry made a few subs, one of which was Eric Moore who scored about 5mins after he was subed in. The momentum started just a little too late and the game ended with us losing again 1-3.

The first half was well played by both U18 teams. DCW appear to be a real organized team with big talented players. The Wizards are hard working scrappy players that find themselves controlling the ball more than DCW. Keeping DCW out of our goal in the second half will be increasing harder has our legs continue to get tired. The second half begins with a tie at 0-0 but doesn't last long as they score on a ball that was slotted in and finished. The U18s continue to compete and Taylor Vinnage is playing great in goal but we were unable to finish, so unfortunately the U18s lost 0-1...It was a tough weekend for all and I think the boys were happy to leave Detroit. They are off to Chicago this weekend!

U16's Match Up Evenly

The U16s faced FC Milwaukee last Saturday, March 13th and man it was cold! The first half was dominated by the Wizards and we were able to create quite a few opportunities. Our goal came in the 42nd when we were able to string together 8+ passes; the whole team was almost involved. To name a few the final four passes consisted off Schrick to Knoll to Pulliam and Rideout finished into the back of the next. Head Coach Jon Parry was very pleased with this goal "We have been working on functional training and possession once a week, so it was good to see it pay off." The team held off Milwaukee for most of the second half. They were able to capitalize on a mistake that happen in our defensive third and they scored in the 82nd minute. Parry emphasized to the team that they need to put together a complete game next time.

On Sunday morning they played Sockers FC out of Chicago. The game was one of the best games the U16's played start to finish. They were able to keep possession and around the 20min Rideout received a ball in the air, took it off his chest and 1/2 volleyed it into the back of the net. The goal was a different level! Not even 10mins later they scored off a rebound and tied the score 1-1. The second half was a lot of back and forth where we had opportunities but couldn't finish. Coach Parry was very complimentary to the Sockers and said "It was very enjoyable playing another team that 'gets after it' for 90mins". He believed the score 1-1 was a very fair result.

Big Congrats to the Juniors

The U16's attempting to warm-up, but still in amazement that they are about to play a match...

I still can't believe we played Saturday night and thank god we did because Sunday was worse. Colorado Rush had nonrefundable tickets so they flew here Saturday determined to get the game in. They landed around 3pm and we had kicked off the conference game by 5:15pm with flurries...

The flurries turned into a full fledged snow storm in my eyes, I'm no weather man but seriously it was crazy! The U16 were unstoppable and took advantage of the slick conditions following up on every shot. We had goals from Nate Opperman, Derek Schrick and Garrett Pulliam. The final was 3-0

The U18's played directly after and had a long fight to the end. There was no scoring until the final few minutes of the game. Rush got on the board first with a PK and within minute we came back and tied the game with a goal by Will Witherspoon. Defender Michael Oakley had the game winner just minutes later of a freekick and the score remained 2-1 leaving the KCW Juniors victorious.

The boys really gave it there all and a big thank you to all who coordinated schedules and to the parents for being so flexible. The teams will continue conference play from now until the Spring Showcase in May. Up next is a road trip to St.Louis on March 6th & 7th.

The Juniors find Success at Home

KCW Juniors played Scott Gallagher Metro out of St.Louis yesterday, which was a very chilly afternoon for soccer. The U16's took the field first at 10am with a slow start and unfortunately went down a goal right before half-time. The second half was dominated by KC and Derek Schrick found the net in the 70th minute to tie the game for us. After 80 minutes of play the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The U18's played directly after at 12pm. The game was full of action straight away with a lot of back and forth play. Wizards found the net around the 20th minute with a left-footed bomb outside the 18yd box from Tony Young (pictured above, #21). They went into half-time up 1-0. Mbulunji Mhango sealed the win with another goal in the second half, which made the final score 2-0 and already three goals for Mhango this season.

The Juniors will travel to Phoenix AZ on Thursday, Dec 3rd to prepare for the Winter Showcase where they will take on teams from California and Virginia.