FRISCO, TEXAS - Three age group champions were crowned Saturday here at the penultimate day of the 30th Dallas Cup played in Pizza Hut Park.

Teams from Texas and California took championships home Saturday. Dallas Texans won the U13 title with a 1-0 victory over West Coast FC. Texans also took the U14 title on penalty kicks over Irvine Strikers after a 1-1 draw, giving a Marcio Leite a pair of championships this week. The U15 final went to Santa Clara Sporting, a 2-0 winner over LAFC Chelsea.

The U16 and older age groups will play their respective finals Sunday.

Scroll down to see semifinal results from Saturday.
    

U13 Final: Dallas Texans vs. West Coast FC

Both teams had run roughshod through the tournament bracket so this promised to be a tight affair, which it was. Marcio Leite’s Texans squad prevailed in the end, behind the strength of an Erick Chapa goal and good goalkeeping from John Melito.

The match was played on the stadium’s big field at Pizza Hut Park, and it was definitely more ground that U13 players are used to covering, both offensively and defensively.

After a fairly tame beginning, Erick Chapa put Texans on the board in the 25th minute with a shot from across the top of the area that wrongfooted the goalkeeper, making the score 1-0. Chapa has been a goalscoring machine this week, including a five-goal performance.

Another standout this week, more in the playmaking department, has been attacking midfielder Emerson Hyndman, who hit a 25-yard strike that was denied by the crossbar in the closing minutes.

In the 2nd half, West Coast began to show more initiative, with Kevin De Niz putting some good touches on the ball, one which led to a shot by Kevin De La Torre that Texans keeper John Melito safely gathered. On the other end, Chapa appeared to have rounded the goalkeeper, but was called for offside and the score remained 1-0.

Texans kept looking for the break, with Chapa positioned by himself on top, but West Coast defenders Thomas Hutchings and Juan Espinoza did a good job of dealing with the forays. West Coast were playing a lot of high balls into the area, but Melito was doing a good job of catching the ball and commanding his area. When he couldn’t reach the serves, Texans players like Anthony Jeffries and Michael Brezovsky were dealing with them.

In the final 10 minutes, De La Torre was running aggressively with the ball in Texans end, but couldn’t break through. West Coast had a lot of possession but the first really good chances came with two minutes left when Steven Ortiz’s header flashed wide from the edge of the 6-yard box. Francisco Rodriguez delivered a crucial tackle to end another run from De Niz.

Texans’ goalkeeper John Melito said the big field made playing his position a little different, and noted Texans struggled in the 2nd half because they didn’t play their preferred passing style.

“It was kind of hard because there were so many tall players on their team, so I had to tell our players to mark up every time. It was hard because I had to come out on some and I sometimes got knocked over because they were bigger and wider than me,” Melito said. “They had chances but they didn’t put them away. They were inside the box about a dozen times, but they didn’t shoot. When we play on the ground we can get around any team, but sometimes we panic and just kick it and then it comes right back down our throat.”

Lineups

West Coast FC:  Parker Hendrickson, Theodore Czaja, Brian Pacheco, Michael Cronk, Matthew Anderson, Trevor Hyman, Kevin DeLaTorre, Aleksandar Cucuk, Juan Espinoza, Thomas Hutchings, Kevin De Niz, Christian Carrillo, Steven Ortiz, Cruz Corral, Anthony Alvarez, Kainoa Bailey

Dallas Texans: Erick Chapa, John Melito, Connor Shoevlin, Garrett Riley, Michael Brezovsky, Nathan Larkin, Jared Rice, Christian Ramirez, Daniel Ruano, Aaron Meyer, Emerson Hyndman, Manuel Lopez, Ian Sadler, James Alcorn, Francisco Rodriguez, Matthew Lopoyda, Anthony Jeffries, Luke Edwards

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U14 Final: Dallas Texans Red vs. Irvine Strikers

Irvine’s Marcus Antonio Delgado had the first good chance of the match, striking a first-time effort wide from the edge of the area in the 3rd minute. In the 10th minute, Michael Wolitski made a run into the Dallas area, but a good tackle from Michael King ended the threat.

On the other end, Strikers made a hash of an attempted clearance, forcing goalkeeper Steven Delgado into a sprawling save from a volley by Zachary Dunbar.

In the 19th minute, Dunbar scored the game’s opening goal, showing some good skill in beating a pair of defenders before slotting home for a 1-0 Texans lead.

After weathering a storm of Texans’ pressure, Strikers scored an equalizer after Luis Flores made a strong run down the right. A failed clearance found the feet of Alejandro Sanchez and he put a rifle shot into the ceiling of the net to make it 1-1, which was the halftime score.

Juan  Sanchez’s Strikers team seems to have a new star every day, and Saturday the player making a good impression was William Raygoza, whose skill on the ball and close control are impressive. Strikers were looking to combine through the middle but Texans were doing a good job of defending and the deadlock stood as the half wore on.

Where Raygoza’s skill was shining, midfielder Mike Wolitski was putting a lot of grit on display. Wolitiski was winning a number of balls in the middle of the field and earned his side a free kick 20 yards from the Texans’ goal in the 61st minute. Marco-Antonio Delgado took the shot and it forced Texans’ goalkeeper into a sprawling save just inside the post to preserve the even score.

Strikers came close again minutes later as Bryan Gutierrez smacked a drive against the crossbar. The carom came down on the line, but not over. Underwood then denied Andres Muniz-Gutierrez on a close-range effort and the match went to overtime.

In the first overtime, Luis Flores was handed the ball on the doorstep of the Texans’ goal, but he fired straight into a sprawling Underwood and the chance was wasted. On the other side, Delgado saved a header from Brandon Aubrey and a subsequent claim for penalty in the Strikers’ area was waved off by the referee. Bryan Gutierrez had an effort in the 2nd OT blocked by Texans’ Jonathan Kotowski, with a header from Gabriel Flores floating over the crossbar a few minutes later.

Strikers thought they had a late winner when Luis Flores knocked home a rebound from an Alejandro Sanchez set piece, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Flores then had a drive deflected out and the match went to penalties.

Both Underwood and Delgado made a save during the initial five rounds of spot kicks, but Strikers’ 6th attempt missed the target and Texans’ Jason Machado buried the final attempt to set off a wild Texans’ celebration and give Marcio Leite his 2nd championship of the day.

“The boys did a terrific job. We feel very lucky, especially with the Under 13s because the other team pounded us and were more physical than us,” Leite said. “With the 95s (U14), it was a pretty even game. We didn’t play as well as we wanted but sometimes when you go into these tournaments you also learn how to win. Of course you don’t want to play like that every day, but sometimes the technique speaks louder, sometimes the size of the heart speaks louder.”

Team co-captain Brandon Aubrey said the Dallas Cup win is huge for his team, adding that they performed at a high level all week despite fatigue.

“This is very important to us. It’s one of the top tournaments along with Nationals and Gothia Cup,” he said. “We dominated every team except for Strikers. They gave us a real run for our money. We’re very tired. At the end of the game we all just kind of fell down.”

Lineups

Dallas Texans Red: Caleb Underwood, Christian Soldat, Bradley Rostron, Zachary Dunbar, Chaz Washington, Zanil Narsing, Sebastian Mata, Michael King, Brandon Aubrey, Jonathan Kotowski, Joseph Caruso, Jonathan Bright, Jack Blanton, Jason Machado, Sahar Brown, Brendan Pak, William Searls, Jose Balderas

Irvine Strikers: Steven Delgado, Edson Arreola, Gabriel Flores, Vincent Reyes, Ivan Hernandez, Michael Wolitski, Luis Flores, Andres Muniz-Gutierrez, Jose Hernandez, Jacob Lux, Marco-Antonio Delgado, Austin Marques, Alejandro Sanchez, Christopher Antunez, Bryan Gutierrez, Leonel Espinoza, William Raygoza, Guillermo Hernandez


U15 Final: Santa Clara Sporting 2, Los Angeles FC Chelsea 0

John Azevedo’s side capped off an excellent week with a fine performance in the championship.

The Northern Californians went up early behind a fine strike from Julio Morales, who has been good here all week.

In the 34th minute, Santa Clara let Chelsea off the hook when, after a penalty had been awarded, the spot kick was blazed over Josh McNeely’s crossbar and the match went to halftime at 1-0.

LAFC’s Larry Morejon hit a wicked drive from 30 yards early in the 2nd half, but if sailed just over the crossbar.  Josh Henderson’s squad was trying to combine through the middle, with Ernesto Rubi showing a lot of skill on the ball, but they weren’t finding the breakthrough. On the other end, Santa Clara’s Morales ran onto a through ball but McNeely made a brave dive to his feet to stop the shot.

Santa Clara gave themselves security when David Perez played a good through ball to Guillermo Talancon. The assistant referee’s flag stayed down despite appearances and Talancon finished well to make it 2-0 with 18 minutes remaining, and John Azevedo’s squad held on for the championship.

Andre Alvarez was particularly strong in defense for Santa Clara.

Lineups

Los Angeles FC Chelsea: Josh McNeely, Kelvin Ponce, Adrian Sanchez, Randy Gartside, Jordan Gutierrez, Ernesto Rubi, Henry Rios, Cristian Gomez, Eduardo Quezada, Jovanny Gomez, Ricardo Loera, Jose Dheming, Jonathan Flores, David Flores, Luis Garcia, Giovanni Reynaga, Larry Morejon, Jorge Martinez

Santa Clara Sporting: David Silva, Luis Angel Soto, Gabriel Borges, Nelson Meza, Julio Morales, David Perez, Angelo Longoni, Roberto Tenorio, Justin Bermudes, Carlos Gavino, Juan Velasquez, Cameron Jurado, Andre Alvarez, Fabian Valdez, Jesus Sanchez, Adam Ballard, Guillermo Talancon


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U16 Semifinals

Real So Cal White 2, Santa Clara Sporting 0
Arsenal FC 2, Ajax Gunners 0

Final (Sunday)
Real So Cal White vs. Arsenal FC

U17 Semifinals

Lonestar SC 2, CZ Elite 1
Monterrey 2, Chicago Magic AS Monaco Academy 1

Final (Sunday)
Lonestar SC vs. Monterrey (MX)

U19 Semifinals

Solar SC U18 Academy 2, Miami FC Kendall U18 Academy 1
Dallas Texans U18 Academy 1, FC Dallas Juniors U18 Academy 0

Final (Sunday)
Dallas Texans U18 Academy vs. Solar SC U18 Academy

SuperGroup Final (Sunday)
Sao Paulo FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

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