Thursday was another busy day in Texas as three Academy teams were in action.
U-12s open GA Cup
The day got started early with the TFC Academy U-12 (2006) kicking off their Generation adidas Cup against New York City FC.
The U-12s play 7v7 matches on a small field with two 15-minute halves. Players can make substitutions at any time and players can re-enter.
NYCFC opened the scoring in the first half on a well-taken shot from outside the box. The Reds equalized on a second-half strike from Dylan Vanney. Vanney picked up the ball just outside the box, turned a defender, and then curled in his shot off the far post.
Both teams had chances to score the winner but the keepers held the attackers out for the 1-1 draw.
After an hour break, the Reds were right back in it with a match against LAFC. LAFC scored once early and rode the momentum into the later stages of the match scoring twice more to take the match 3-0.
The U-12s are back in action on Friday when they take on both Colorado and Portland to finish out their GA Cup group stage.
U-17s battle SKC
The Toronto FC Academy U-17 team played their first of two placement games on Thursday as they took on Sporting Kansas City.
Sporting Kanas City was lead by first team-contracted player Gianluca Busio. The 15-year-old forward showed early why he is worthy of a first-team deal as he curled home a 3rd-minute free-kick opportunity past Rimi Olatunji.
Sporting added another just two minutes later as the ball found an SKC forward in the box and he slotted it home to double SKC’s lead. The score remained at 2-0 into halftime.
Head coach Benoit Cheyrou made some halftime adjustments that worked well for the Reds. TFC had SKC on their heels for most of the second half.
The Reds pulled one back on a set piece as midfielder Mehdi Essoussi sprung into the box to head home the Reds first goal of the day. TFC pressed hard for the equalizer but were unlucky in not finding it.
The U-17s will play their last game in Dallas on Saturday as they take on Spanish giants Real Madrid.
U-16s top Dallas Cup Group
The Toronto FC Academy U-16s team closed out their Dallas Cup group stage with a crucial clash against Mexican side Regios FC. TFC came into the match with two victories and needed a win or a draw to advance.
Once again, the wind played a major factor in the match. The Reds were able to strike going against the wind as Nayke Greenidge-Duncan followed up his own rebound and fired home the opener.
In the second half, the Reds drew a penalty kick as Greenidge-Ducan was taken down in the area. Sidney Paris stepped up to take the spot kick but the Regios keeper did well to stop the shot.
After the spot kick there was little opportunity on both sides and the match ended 1-0 for the Reds. The win secured TFC top spot in Group G. TFC will take on another Mexican side in the quarterfinals, as they will play CF Monterrey on Friday at 1:00 PM.
