The Dallas Cup Boys Championships were held in the U13, U14, U15, and U16 age groups on Saturday. San Diego Surf was the only club to send a team to multiple championship games. Surf prevailed over Rebels in the U14 age group, but came up short against FC Dallas in the U15 game. Houston Dynamo won the U13 championship over SoCal Elite. Dallas Texans ECNL topped Olympiacos FC Academy (So Cal) in the U16 game. The other finals in the boys club soccer event will be held on Sunday. 

U14 Boys Dallas Cup Championship 

San Diego Surf 3-0 Dallas Rebels 

San Diego Surf 07 won the 2021 Dallas Cup Boys U14 Championship on Saturday with a compressive performance in the title game. The Southern California squad dominated possession throughout the contest and looked comfortable letting the ball do the work after a long week of games in Texas. 

Surf’s week started with a 3-2 loss against Houston Dynamo Academy. Following wins over Allegiance FC and Crossfire Premier ECNL in group play, Surf advanced over Dynamo thanks to a better goal differential. Surf defeated Wake Futbol in the quarterfinals, and topped Solar MLS Academy in the semifinal. 

Rebels arrived in the championship bout without conceding a goal from the previous five fixtures at the tournament. Surf was a different challenge for the local squad. David Lora Araux nabbed the opening goal in the 27th minute on a beautiful strike. 

Rebels did not threaten the Surf net much, but they did compete throughout the contest. Fabian Chicas capped off an outstanding tournament for Rebels with a standout showing in a losing effort. 

Surf proved to be too talented and well-coached for Rebels on the day. They added to the lead early in the second half thanks to a tally from Maxim Scordo. Lora Araux had the first shot off a nice pass from Scordo, but Gerardo Guillen denied the first shot. Scordo was there for the finish on the rebound. 

Jake Basinet almost made it 3-0 Surf, but the post denied him the glory in the 55th minute. Surf remained on the hunt for another goal later in the second half. Colton Beuck had an attempt on a breakaway thanks to a terrific pass from Adam Ambrus-Aikelin, but Guillen made a great save on the 1v1 showdown. 

Beuck had the last laugh though. The winger hit a curling effort into the upper corner of the net for the final goal of the game. It was a spectacular finish from the attacker late in the game. 

Surf coach Giulio Gnaulati had the team playing some exquisite soccer on the day on the massive pitch at Toyota Stadium. Midfielders Kyrome Lumsden, Ricky Moreno Jr., and Ambrus-Aikelin were outstanding throughout the game. They were all clean and calm on the ball. They did well moving without the ball to give options for their teammates in possession. Ambrus-Aikelin made some outstanding passes to break the lines. Lumsden looked unstoppable with the ball at this feet while making charging runs through the field. He also did well working back to win the ball back from his side as he looks like a box-to-box midfielder to keep an eye on for the future. 

Surf center back Abdiel Espinoza made a great defensive play in the second half to shut down a chance for Rebels. Goalkeeper Oliver Holt did not need to make many saves thanks to the work of the defense in front of him, but he was a key player for the game as his distribution with pinpoint accuracy helped Surf build comfortably out of the back. 

Surf XI: Oliver Holt; Diego Valles, Abdiel Espinoza, Nicolas Axelson, Jack Bottini; Adam Ambrus-Aikelin, Ricky Moreno Jr., Kyrome Lumsden; Maxim Scordo, David Lora Araux, Oliver Kurnik 

Goals: David Lora Araux 10’, Maxim Scordo 50’, Colton Beuck 70+1’ 

U15 Boys Dallas Cup Championship

FC Dallas 4-0 San Diego Surf 

After winning the U13 championship in 2019, FC Dallas 06 made it a back-to-back with a title on Saturday in the U15 age group (there was no Dallas Cup in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic). Forward Kristian Kelley scored twice in the first half and once in the second half to send FC Dallas on their way to the title. Miguel Padilla sealed the win with a goal in the second half. 

Surf goalkeeper Duran Ferree was busy in the first half as the talented FC Dallas side took control of the game early and never let go. Ferree had four saves in the opening half, but he could not stop a couple of shots from Kelley. 

FC Dallas grabbed the opening goal in the 10th minute off a corner kick from Alejandro Urzua that found Kelley with the classy finish on the header at the near post. 

Kelley doubled the lead right before half. It was midfielder Matthew Corcoran who setup this chance. Corcoran had his shot blocked inside the box. Kelley benefitted from the stop and had the killer instinct to put home the second goal of the game right before the break. 

Second half substitute Miguel Padilla scored in the 55th minute off an assist from Jared Salazar. Kelley nabbed his third goal of the day on an assist from Nayrobi Vargas in the 61st minute. Kelley finished the event as the leading scorer in the U15 age group with seven goals. 

FC Dallas XI: Fabian Enriquez; Henry Canizalez, Aiden Bazzell, Gabriel Brandon, Isaac Nascimento; Matthew Corcoran, Alejandro Urzua, Jared Salazar; Isaac Romero, Nayrobi Vargas, Kristian Kelley 

Goals: Kristian Kelley (10’, 40’, 61’), Miguel Padilla (55’) 

Surf XI: Duran Ferree; Gavin Facer, Gabriel Gil, Naveed Tate, Gabriel Oksanen; Marcus Lightbourne Jr., Ben Norris, Vincent Padilla; Diego Orosco, Carter Feinman, Ethan Safi