The KIA Toronto FC Academy has earned qualification to the final round of the 2013-14 Generation Adidas Cup. The tournament team, which is a combination of players from the Junior Academy and the U16 sides, played the final set of games in the Eastern region qualifying group over Thanksgiving weekend in Montreal, and came away with three wins in three games.

On Friday, TFC earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over their hosts and rivals, the Impact Academy. Mateo Restrepo scored in the first half from a Luca Uccello corner kick. Mateo made a run to the near post and redirected the ball into the net. The goal stood up, in large part due to the outstanding work of Michael Uccello who made several key saves to preserve the shutout.   

The next morning Toronto FC Academy lined up against Columbus. The first half was scoreless, but Toronto found a winner in the second half.  Another great save by Michael Uccello allowed the team to launch a counter-attack. The ball was played wide by Alex Pena to Raheem Taylor-Parkes, who then drove a ball into box for Jordan Montoya. He made no mistake, finishing into the top corner, and providing the boys with another 1-0 win. Those 3 points also secured Coach Anthony Capotosto and his team their place in the elite international final round.    

There was one more game to play on Monday, and a Philadelphia Union Academy side who desperately needed the win grabbed a 2-0 first half lead. TFC regrouped, and came storming back in the second half. They got two goals by Kevin Timachy to tie the game and send it to a shootout. Two shootout stops by Toronto ‘keeper Brandon Kerr gave them the edge they needed to win 4-2. All four Toronto shooters (Aidan Daniels, Mateo Restrepo, Marcus Godinho and Alex Pena) converted to earn the team the extra point and finish qualifying on a high.

Toronto FC Aademy finished the qualifying round with 12 points from 5 games, and can now look forward to participating in the international final-round bracket of the Generation Adidas Cup on Easter Weekend 2014.