FC Dallas heads north to Sporting Kansas City on Friday for the first game of March in the Development Academy. The two teams enter the game at completely different stages of the season.

Sporting Kansas City is only six games in and yet to play an Academy fixture since December. The U18 team is 4-2-0 in those early season games, while the U16 team is 2-2-2.

Meanwhile, FC Dallas U18 is cruising at the top of the Texas Division with already 18 games played and a 15-1-2 record including a four-game winning streak through February.

FC Dallas U16 has not faired quite as well with a 7-4-7 record, but do currently hold the second spot in the Texas Division.

Friday night’s games against Sporting KC is just the start of the road trip for FC Dallas. The Hoops head to Indiana on Sunday to complete a non-division weekend against Indiana United Fire Academy.

West Conference:

Vancouver Whitecaps host San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday in the lone contest between two teams in the Northwest Division. The Earthquakes U18 team trails Vancouver by one point heading into the weekend with a game in hand.

In the U16 group, Earthquakes trail the Whitecaps by two points, and are looking for revenge after Vancouver crushed San Jose 5-0 in February in the first meeting between the clubs. The Quakes will be counting on forward Elisama Padilla to provide the spark offensively. Padilla has four goals in his last three games.

Out in the desert, RSL-AZ hosts Crossfire Premier in a non-division game. RSL-AZ U18 is currently riding a red-hot streak with ten goals for, and zero against in the last two games. El Salvador U23 forward Maikon Orrellana leads the MLS residency with six goals in 13 games.

RSL-AZ U16, on the other hand, has hit a slight road bump. Last time out, RSL-AZ suffered its first divisional loss of the season against Pateadores. Leading-scorer Jose Navarro factors to be a major contributor on the scoreboard for RSL-AZ on Saturday.

In sunny Southern California, U.S. U17 World Cup veteran Paul Arriola makes his return to the Arsenal FC lineup following the conclusion of his high school season. Arriola and his squad head north to the Home Depot Center for a showdown with Chivas USA in the lone SoCal division game this weekend.

California Development Academy hosts Pateadores on Saturday, as the Thompson brothers try to bring the Sacramento club out of the cellar in the U18 division standings. Last week, both Tanner Thompson and Tommy Thompson found the back of the net in a win over the Seattle Sounders U18.

 

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Central Conference:

Solar Chelsea SC and Andromeda make the flight north to Indiana for a swing through the Hoosier State with fixtures against Crew Soccer Academy and Internationals over the weekend.

Midfielder and Duke recruit Zachary Mathers leads the Solar Chelsea SC U18 team with 8 goals in 19 games. Kevin Smith’s group might be buoyed by the return of Alfred Koroma. The University of Akron commit recently competed in the U20 national team camp in Florida that ended on Thursday.

In Texas, Dallas Texans U16 put its undefeated record on the line again against sister-club Texans SC Houston on Sunday. Texans SC Houston trails Dallas by ten points in the standings. Brandon Aubrey leads the Dallas team with 10 goals in 17 games.

Texas Rush hosts Houston Dynamo to round out the docket from the Texas Division.

J.R. Eskilson is a staff reporter at TopDrawerSoccer.com. Follow him on or send him an email.