Video: U13 Highlights

Yesterday we told you the U13 Juniors went undefeated en route to a first place finish at the Michael Brown Winter Classic in Frisco, Texas this past weekend and today we now have the video highlights courtesy of Chris Bihuniak. Some scrappy finishing at first and then some serious skills on display by the youngest of our academy teams.

Juniors at Michael Brown Winter Classic

The Sporting Kansas City U13 and U14 Juniors were in Frisco, Texas this weekend at the Michael Brown Winter Classic.

The U13s went undefeated in their four matches at the FC Dallas Soccer Complex, posting a 3-0-1 record and finishing atop the standings in the U13 Gold group. "The boys played well and got better every game," said coach Matt Trumpp. "The weekend was a good start to our Spring season. We look to improve as we move into NPL."

The U13's opened the weekend with back-to-back 3-0 wins over Huskies Soccer Academy and Comets Soccer Academy, respectively. The team allowed their lone goal of the weekend on a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas Academy 00 on Sunday morning, but goalkeeper Diego Alanis responded with his third shutout of the weekend with a 3-0 win later that day against FC Dallas Academy 99.

The U14's kicked off their tournament on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Dallas Texans 98B in the morning and a 3-0 victory over TFC 98B Royal in the evening. Sunday started off strong with a 5-0 win against the FC Dallas 98B Blue before the team fell 2-1 in the fourth and final match of the trip versus group winners DFW Tejanos 98B Premier. With four games -- and two wins -- under their belt in the first outdoor action of 2012, Dustin Ottesen's squad will now have their sights set on gearing up for the Spring season ahead.

Photo Slideshow: U13's in action

The Sporting Kansas City U13 Juniors were the first Juniors team to travel to a tournament in 2011 when they went to Dallas, Texas for the Michael Brown Winter Classic at Pizza Hut Park last month. Now thanks to Chris Weaver -- soccer dad and photography master -- we have more than 100 great shots from their four games to show off. Check them out...

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.”

U13 SKC Juniors in Dallas, TX

Best of luck to Head Coach Dustin Ottesen and his Sporting Kansas City U13 Juniors as they travel to Dallas for the tenth annual Michael Brown Winter Classic this weekend. They will play in Bracket A of the U13 Boys Gold division, with games against FC Dallas Youth 98B Premier and TFC 98B Royal on Saturday, then versus DFW Tejanos 98B Premier and Solar 98B (in the U14 Boys Silver division) on Sunday. Of the 14 teams in the U13 Boys age group, the Juniors are the only team from outside the state of Texas.

All games in the 112-team tournament will be played at Pizza Hut Park -- home to MLS side FC Dallas. Check the tournament's GotSoccer page for updated results and standings throughout the weekend, and we'll have a full recap here at The Junior Way on Monday.