The upcoming holiday is reflected in this weekend’s Development Academy schedule, as a very light slate is on the works for the long weekend.

Still, for some of the teams heading into action, the chase for a playoff spot continues. Here’s a look at some of the most important matchups:

Central Conference

Kicking off the long weekend is an important matchup for Shattuck St. Mary’s, as they travel to face Sporting KC Juniors on Friday. While KC’s U16 and U18 teams are struggling in the division standings, St. Mary’s is currently top in both age groups.

Leading scorers Steve Eneme and Heath Honold are set to lead St. Mary’s U16s into action, while John Lujano, Ricardo Lopez-Espin and Jacob Gandarilla have all pushed along the U18 team.

Javan Torre

Just behind St. Mary’s in the U18 Frontier Division standings sits the dormant Colorado Rapids Academy and Minnesota Thunder, while St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri and Real Colorado represent the closet challengers in the U16 bracket.

Teams in the Great Lakes Division are dormant over the weekend, with the Chicago Fire, whose U18 Academy side continued to hold the No. 1 spot in our TeamRank this week, leads both age groups at the moment.

Down in Texas, the action is limited to a quartet of games. Solar Chelsea, whose U16s need points to remain in contention for a playoff spot, host Lonestar SC. On Saturday, Texas Rush welcome Andromeda.

East Conference

Games are extremely light out east. Match Fit Chelsea play NJSA 04 and the Baltimore Bays Chelsea pay a visit to Potomac FC in the only games on Saturday for east clubs, before PA Classics and FC Delco renew their in-state rivalry.

The Bays are looking to solidify their hold on their first place spot in the U18 Mid-Atlantic Division, while in need of a result to climb the U16 ladder. Potomac is currently bottom in both divisions.

On Monday, matches with important implications for the Northeast Division occur as the New England Revolution Academy plays nearby rivals FC Greater Boston. The Revolution trails FCGB in the standings right now in both the U16 and U18 age groups.

West Conference

While the rest of the SoCal Division gets the weekend off, LA Galaxy hosts Arsenal FC with the hopes of locking down a top two spot in the U18 and U16 divisions.

The U18s, which features talent like Javan Torre, Sebastian Velasquez and William Raygoza – to name a few – would clinch at least second place in the division with three points against Arsenal, with hopes for first place still within their sights.

LA’s U16s also control their own destiny heading into the Arsenal game. If they win their final two games of the year, they’ll also finish first in the division and book a spot in the Dev. Academy playoffs.

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