SARASOTA, FLORIDA – As the US Soccer Federation Development Academy approaches the end of its 3rd season, the far-reaching initiative to comprehensively upgrade the quality of player development in this country faces a number of crossroads and challenges.

What should not be in doubt is the ability of the organization’s ability to put on a good event.

Inability to change the weather aside, US Soccer has all the bases covered here. Great fields, solid referees, a fantastic player lounge and high-level matches in front of a large cross-section of college coaches make this event far more than worthwhile. Later this weekend technical directors will be debating future direction and listening to the latest plans from the Academy, including new US Soccer Technical Director Claudio Reyna, but for today it was OK just to enjoy the excellent competition.

Along with the various wild-card pertinent non-division matchups, some Academy Select teams have been chosen for above-average scrutiny in feature matches, with an eye toward possible youth national team selection of the players.

One of those matches took place in hot and humid conditions Friday afternoon, as a U16 group guided for the day by national staff coach Juan Carlos Mecia played counterparts from Kevin Smith’s Solar SC team. The match ended in a scoreless draw, with the Dallar-area side enjoying many more scoring chances as you might expect from a proper team vs. one playing together for the first time. There was, however some individual quality on display for the Select group.

Solar’s first chance came when Zachary Mathers sent in a good cross that Chandler Crosswait headed wide. Hayden Partain put in a good corner to set up Trevor Haberkorn, but the shot went just over the crossbar of Select goalkeeper Stephen McCauley.

Daniel Gonzalez showed good feet and quick decisions for Select in midfield, and PDA’s Erik Sa was tough in contesting Solar’s attempts to build through the middle. Christian Kaschak created Select’s only real scoring chance of the 1st half when he whistled in a free kick that Solar defender Regan Dunk cleared from the midst of a scramble.

Solar went back on the attack and immediately and Colton Missimo put in some good work on the right before shooting just wide. Dunk then had a scoring chance but Select’s Travis Pillon cleared the ball from just in front of the goal line.

Solar 1st half goalkeeper Zachary Bennett was agile and good coming off his line.

In the 2nd half, midfielder Chandler Crosswait was starting to get some space to operate and showed some real ability on the ball. He sent a good ball to Barrett Barger but Select 2nd half goalkeeper Caleb Underwood made a good save from close range.

The Select team started to show more cohesion and ability to string passes together in the 2nd half, with PA Classics midfielder Christian Kaschak playing a key role in keeping the ball moving. Fernando Castellanos played a nice ball for Wesley Eads, but Solar 2nd half goalkeeper Blake Brown rushed off his line to smother the ball before a shot could be attempted.

Solar then created a chance with Parfait playing a nice combination with Copeland, but Erik Sa made a timely clearance for the Select side. Solar midfielder Mason Miller displayed an excellent work rate, while William Webb put in some good touches to go with Crosswait’s artistry on the ball. Crosswait combined well with William Simmonds and Joel Mendoza before the later put a header narrowly over. Mendoza then played a beautiful ball for Jordan Moore, but the shot hit the upright and the match ended in a scoreless draw.

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Academy Select U16 Lineup
GK: Stephen McCauley, Concorde Fire (Caleb Underwood, FC Dallas)
D: Travis Pillon, Mustang SC; Christian DeLuna, Mustang SC (Peter Lam, Mclean SC);  Michael King, Texas SC; Christian Sady, New England Revolution
M: Erik Sa, PDA; Daniel Gonzalez, Miami FC Kendall;  Christian Kaschak, PA Classics; Zhuvonte Wilson, Charlotte SA (Fernando Castellano, CASL)
Wesley Eads, South Carolina United;  Sean Dhillon, Irvine Strikers

Solar SC U16 Academy Team
GK: Zachary Bennett
D: Brandon Lee, Trevor Haberkorn, Regan Dunk, Jordan Moore
M: Colton Missimo, Hayden Partain, Zachary Mathers, Chandler Crosswait, Dalton Eudy
F: Connor Copeland
Subs: Blake Brown (GK), Murphy Short, Joel Mendoza, William Simmonds, Mason Miller, William Webb, Barrett Barger

Friday Results (courtesy US Soccer)

U16
FC Greater Boston 0, Weston SC 0
Match Fit Chelsea 4, Miami FC Kendall 0
Empire United 3, Concorde Fire 2
Mustang SC 1, Charlotte SA 0
NJSA 4, Texas Rush 0
Real So Cal 1, New England Revolution 0
LA Galaxy 2, CASL Chelsea 2
New York Red Bulls 4, Houston Dynamo 0
South Carolina Premier 3, Washington Premier 1
Chivas USA 2, Texas SC 0
Mclean Youth Soccer 1, Irvine Strikers 0
Dallas Texans 2, Potomac SA 0
Arsenal FC 1, FC Dallas 1
Virginia Rush 2, Santa Cruz County Breakers 0
St. Louis Scott Gallagher 3, Richmond Strikers 3
Sockers FC 1, PDA 0


U18
FC Greater Boston 2, Weston SC 2
Andromeda 2, Met Oval 2
PA Classics 2, Lonestar Aztex Academy 0
St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro 1, Greensoboro Youth Soccer 1
Match Fit Chelsea 1, Miami FC Kendall 0
Concorde Fire 2, Empire United 1
Mustang SC 2, Charlotte SA 0
Solar SC 0, NJSA 0
LA Galaxy 2, CASL Chelsea 2
New York Red Bull 2, Houston Dynamo 0
South Carolina United 4, Washington Premier 0
Dallas Texans 3, Potomac SA 0
FC Dallas 2, Arsenal FC 0
Santa Cruz County Breakers 1, Virginia Rush 1
St. Louis Scott Gallagher 1, Richmond Strikers 0
Sockers FC 1, PDA 0
Classics Elite 3, Richmond Kickers 2