Tough Weekend at Home....

On Saturday March 13 in the rain & wind at the Overland Park Soccer Complex, the U18s took on FC Milwaukee. The squad was hit by injuries & illness and for both games this weekend they had to make do with only 3 outfield substitutes. It was a hard fought game, in poor weather conditions & neither team could find the net. FC Milwaukee had quite a few good opportunities especially in the 2nd half but failed to put their chances away & although the KC Wizards Juniors fought hard against a strong FC Milwaukee team, the game finished in a 0-0 tie.

The game on Sunday March 14 against Sockers FC had way more action with the Wizards going up by a goal from Patrick Foglio on the 41st minute. He beat the defender wide on the right & cut in & drilled home a low shot into the left hand corner. Rodney Mays had to go off injured from a groin strain and at half time we were 1-0 up. Without 3 key defenders, we struggled in the 2nd half & the Sockers FC scored about 6 minutes in equalizing from a free kick. The Sockers then went on to get a 2nd goal before we equalized with a powerful Michael Oakley header from a corner by Patrick Foglio. With a few minutes remaining, Sockers FC kept the pressure on & it paid off for them when they snatched a 3rd goal. Shortly thereafter, Patrick Foglio had a great left footed effort from 20 yards out that went inches over the crossbar. Unfortunately time ran out for the KC Wizards Juniors & the game finished with a disappointing 3-2 loss!

All teams in Action this Weekend

Come on out and support. All of our Juniors Teams (U14, U16 & U18) will be in action at the Overland Park Sports Complex.

The U18s and U16s will face FC Milwaukee on Saturday and Sockers FC who are out of Chicago on Sunday. FC Milwaukee are coming to town with a 0-2-0 record in the U16s division and a 1-1-0 record in the U18s. Sockers FC are a 1-1-0 record in the U16s and a 0-2-0 record in the U18s.

The U14s will be playing their first league game in the U15 division against Prodigy who are out of Topeka KS.

Games Times:
Saturday
U14 vs Prodigy @11am on Field #2
U16 vs FC Milwaukee @11:15sm on Field #5
U18 vs FC Milwaukee @1:15sm on Field #5

Sunday
U16 vs Sockers FC @8:30 on Field #5
U18 vs Sockers FC @10:30 on Field #5

U14's Faced Tough Competiton

The U14 team, coached by Daouda Kante (former MLS player) played in the local Border Battle tournament last weekend. They played in the U15 age group and faced some tough competition. The tournament started on Friday against local rival KCFC United at 5pm. It was a very even match-up with both teams playing end to end. We had a few opportunities, but were not able to finish our chances. Andre Kodanaz played in goal for us and made some fantastic save. The match ended 0-0.

On Saturday we played BGFC (Billy Goats) and it was much of the same as Friday's match...even ending in a 0-0 tie. The 3rd and final match was a hard loss against BVSC-Boca. The boys played well and unfortunately got scored on in the 2nd half on a questionable goal...could have/should have been called a hand ball?!?! We lost that game 0-1.

The U14 will play in the Heartland league in the U15 division and also compete in MRL this season.

Tough Times...but no Losses

The U16s found both matches just as difficult as the U18s. On Saturday they had a hard time finding their rhythm in the first half and were dominated by St. Louis. At half time head coach, Jon Parry made a few adjustments and we were much more competitive and effective. They had a good 25min streak but could not find the net and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Props to GK Jon Kempin and the SLSG keeper, both played well.

On Sunday it was much of the same against SLSG Metro. Metro was very solid defensively and we had a hard time getting shots off during the first half. The 2nd half was more back and forth and Jon Kempin really kept us in the match saving two break-aways. In the 80th minute Romeo Munoz had a perfectly placed corner kick into the box for us. Our players crashed it as well as the St. Louis defenders...but the luck rolled our way and the ball went off the back of one of their defender's heads. So yes, we won on an own goal. 1-0 was the final.

Tough weekend in St. Louis...

The U18 and U16 traveled to St. Louis last weekend to face off against Scott Gallagher Metro and Missouri and boy was it not rewarding...

U18's first match was a very back and forth against SLSG Missouri. They scored first and we came back to score on a PK after Patrick Foglio was blatantly taken down in the box after getting past their defense with his pace. Jordan Zarse stepped up to score the penalty for us. After going behind again in the second half Michael Oakley took a nasty kick in the face from a high kick, then got up from the injury and created the perfect cross for Alex Pilsl to drill home the equalizer in the last 5 minutes of the game. The game 2-2 in an evenly matched game.

On Sunday March 7, the team had a slow start to a game with a below par performance against SLSG Metro. The game was a very stop & start type game and we struggled to contain their forward line up in the first half leading to a goal from them on the 8th minute. In the 2nd half after GK Taylor Vinnage kept the Wizards in the game with several excellent saves, they went on to score putting the game at 2-0.
In the 68th minute, Will Witherspoon scored with a powerful header from a corner & despite looking lively for the rest of the game, we failed to equalize. A disappointing loss of 2-1.

More Snow Photos....

Nick Row dusts snow away so he can actually set the ball on turf for the free kick.


Marques Mayoras beats a Rush player.

These were just too good to pass up...

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.