Development Academy soccer is back for FC Dallas. And the club’s staff could not be more excited about it.

FC Dallas takes on Solar Chelsea SC in one of the many local derbies over the weekend from across the country.

Andrija Novakovich

WEST

Crossfire Premier hosts Seattle Sounders on Saturday for bragging rights in the great state of Washington. Crossfire U18 is 4-0-0 on the season with 11 goals for and only two conceded. SMU verbal commit Avery Miller has been doing the work in net with three shutouts already this season. The Crossfire U16 squad is not far off pace with a 3-1-0 record on the year. Joey Parish leads the attack with four goals to his name. Gibson Cody is second with three goals in four starts.

LA Galaxy against San Diego Surf is the lone fixture from the U17/18 and U15/16 age groups in the Southwest Division this weekend. Galaxy hosts the Surf on Sunday at the StubHub Center. Galaxy is undefeated on the year through the three age groups with a 5-0-1 record. Jaime Villarreal, Aaron Lombardi, and Christian Chavez have all found the back of the net twice for the U18 squad so far this season. For the U16 side, Jesus Nunez has already made the jump up from the U14s to the U16s. He is squaring off against fellow U15 Boys National Team member Mckay Eves on Sunday. Nunez has two goals in two games with the U16s already.

In the youngest age group, Los Angles Futbol Academy returns to action this weekend with a game against Albion SC on Saturday. LAFA was recently part of a tournament in Spain against some of the best academies in the world. The squad might be shorthanded though, depending on the U14 BNT roster for the camp that kicks off on Saturday.

CENTRAL

They call it the Chicago Clasico. Chicago Fire and Chicago Magic PSG face off on Sunday at College of DuPage Soccer Fields. Magic U18 will be shorthanded with Abuchi Obinwa and Tommy Redding out at the U18 Men’s National Team camp this week. It may not make much difference with the way Andrija Novakovich is playing. The striker has seven goals in four games this season. Fire is no pushover though, and the coaching staff at the club is high on this age group. They’ve started the season with a 4-0-0 record. Qudus Lawal leads the team in scoring with four goals in three appearances.

The aforementioned FC Dallas-Solar Chelsea SC showdown highlights the schedule from the Frontier Division. This is the first game of the season for the FC Dallas U16 and U18 squads while Solar already started the year last weekend with a draw and a loss to Houston Dynamo. Both Dallas teams will be shorthanded in the U18 age group due to the U18 MNT camp, but Alan Winn’s absence is probably the most important as he is the key for the Solar attack on the wings. The two clubs will also meet in the U14 age group where both teams are undefeated on the year.

EAST

Local rivalry games do no extend to the East Conference, as it is business as usual in the Atlantic Division. On Saturday, PDA takes on debutante Bethesda-Olney. In typical PDA fashion, the club’s U16 and U18 teams are perfect on the season and likely going to give the Maryland club a rude introduction to the level of the top squads of the Academy over the weekend. Cameron Harr leads the PDA U16 squad in scoring with four goals in three appearances. Zach Knudson has emerged as one of the top scorers in the country with six goals in four games for the U18 PDA squad.

New England Revolution travels to New York Red Bulls on Sunday in an important matchup of MLS academies in the Northeast Division. Revolution U18 sits at the top of the standings with three wins to start the year. Red Bulls U18, the defending national champions, have been slow out of the gate with a 1-0-1 record. Red Bulls will be without the services of Dante Perez who picked up a red card in the last game.

In the Southeast Division, Capital Area Railhawks Academy – CASL hits the road for games against Weston FC and Kendall SC in Florida over the weekend. Kendall SC is 4-0-0 on the season in the U16 age group. Andy Alvarez, Sebastian Herran, and Inigo Sagarduy each have two goals this season to pace the attack for Kendall SC U16. 

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