FRISCO, Texas – After winning their group at the 2011 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs last month, the FC Dallas U-18 Academy team will now compete at Academy Finals Week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 9-16. The U-18s will have group matches on Saturday, July 9; Monday, July 11; and Wednesday, July 13 before the final day of games on Friday, July 15.
About Finals Week
At Finals Week, the eight teams that won their respective groups during playoffs are split into two groups of four. Teams will play a round robin format for a total of three games. The two groups are then seeded 1 to 4 based on the group stage results.
On the final day of games, the number one seeded team from Group One plays the number one seeded team from Group Two to decide the Academy’s first and second place winners. The number two seeded teams from each group play to decide third and fourth, the number three seeded teams play for fifth and sixth, and the number four seeded teams for seventh and eighth.
Finals Week U-18 Participants (2011 playoff group winners)
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">Group One</span></strong> |
<strong><span style="font-size: small;">Group Two</span></strong> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485096-27484530/TEAM.html">Pateadores</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485059-27484530/TEAM.html">FC Dallas</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485053-27484530/TEAM.html">New York Red Bulls</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485044-27484530/TEAM.html">Baltimore Bays Chelsea</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485052-27484530/TEAM.html">Players Development Academy</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485094-27484530/TEAM.html">Weston FC</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485055-27484530/TEAM.html">Dallas Texans</a></span> |
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/27484436/27485079-27484530/TEAM.html">CASL Chelsea FC</a></span> |
FCD’s Finals Week Opponents
The U-18s will start off Finals Week with a match against Baltimore Bays Chelsea on Saturday, July 9 at 5:30 p.m. CT. Baltimore is the only team in Group 2 that didn’t win their division and is the only U-18 team that advanced as a Wild Card seed. FC Dallas will have to be wary of top scorer Chris Somerville, who tallied 12 times in 20 appearances for Baltimore – twice as many times as the next highest goal scorer on the team.
FCD’s second match of the group stage will be against North Carolina-based CASL Chelsea FC on Monday, July 11 at 3 p.m. CASL advanced to the playoffs after taking the top spot in the Atlantic Division of the USSDA’s South Conference. The U-18s will have to test CASL goalkeeper Paul West early and often and the Dallas defense will need to be sharp, as this East Coast team allowed only 15 goals through 25 regular season games while putting 70 past their opponents.
The final group stage game for FC Dallas will be on Wednesday, July 13 at 6 p.m. against Weston FC of Florida. Weston is the third division winner in Group 2, as they took the Southeast Division crown during the regular season. This opponent will surely represent another tall order for the FC Dallas defense, as Weston scored on opponents 82 times in the regular season, with top scorer Felipe Noguerol contributing 20 on his own.
FC Dallas will learn their final opponent after the conclusion of the group stage and will play their last match of the 2010-11 Academy season on Friday, February 15.
Stay tuned to FCDallas.com for all of the U-18 action from Finals Week.
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