The Earthquakes’ under-17 Academy team gained invaluable experience facing world-class competition in the Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas.
Quakes Academy Technical Director Chris Leitch said he considers the GA Cup to be the best youth tournament in the country, bar none.
The event gave Major League Soccer’s best and brightest academy players a rare chance to match up with their international counterparts.
The Quakes were 0-3 in their very tough group with competitive losses to Eintracht Frankfurt-Germany, Palmeiras-Brazil and the Philadelphia Union. Eintracht Frankfurt and Palmeiras wound up second and third overall.
Despite the tough sledding in group play, the Quakes kept battling and earned a much-deserved 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao-Spain in the knockout round. Ivan Valencia scored the winner on a penalty kick. Valencia also scored in the 40th minute of a 2-1 loss to Philly to complete group play.
But the Quakes were then eliminated with a 2-0 loss to Aspire Academy-Qatar.
Coach Steve Wondolowski’s side was widely praised after an entertaining 2-1 loss to Palmeiras in the Quakes’ second match of group play.
Theo Huxham gave the Quakes a 1-0 lead during a brilliant sequence when he followed his own chip off the post and shot into the net. Quakes goalkeeper Cameron Douglas had a big game with seven saves, including turning back a penalty kick.
“We came out with a better mentality,” center back John Austin Ricks said in an interview after the Palmeiras match. “(Against Eintracht) we didn’t know what was going to happen. We didn’t know who we were going up against, but we gave a better performance and we came out harder.”
Wondolowski said they had a good game plan against dynamic Palmeiras, working hard on defense and countering through the outside midfielders, a tactic that nearly produced a few more goals.
“They knew they had to step up and play as a team and couldn’t go one-on-one and use their athleticism like they do in some of the league matches,” Wondolowski said after the match.
Wondolowski said he wouldn’t be surprised if some of the Palmeiras and Eintracht Frankfurt players wind up on their club’s first teams in a couple of years.
Dallas Cup: The Earthquakes U-14 PDA ’01 team, U-14 Academy squad and U-17 East Valley Futbol Club also had memorable experiences and a measure of success in the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup.
The U-14 PDA ‘0-1 squad had a 1-1-1 record in group play, with a group-leading total of seven goals. The U-14 Academy team had a similar experience -- a 1-1-1 mark in the U-15 division, scoring eight goals. The East Valley Futbol Club was 2-1-0 with wins over Dallas Texans and New Mexico Rush.
