FRISCO, TEXAS – After a two-day absence, the high winds came back to Pizza Hut Park and the 30th Dallas Cup, making a huge impact on the 12 quarterfinal matches played here Thursday.

Los Angeles FC Chelsea coach Josh Henderson described the effect of the wind on the matches, noting that teams who can play it on the deck have a decided advantage in such conditions.

“When it’s this windy obviously managing the wind is everything. It can come down to who reacts to the wind and who almost forgets about the wind at times, and plays through it,” Henderson said. “We like to keep the ball on the ground and keep it moving, so hopefully it doesn’t affect us as much as teams that like to keep the ball in the air, but today you could see the wind had a great effect on the game.”

Henderson’s U15 LAFC Chelsea squad may not have been able to forget about the wind during their quarterfinal match with Austin, Texas-based club Lonestar SC, but the Californians managed to do enough to eke out a 1-0 victory and advance to Friday’s semifinals.

That the team was playing its fourth match in four days also showed, with heavy legs a factor on both sides.

“It’s always harder to run against the wind, and the boys are starting to feel it a little bit,” Henderson said. “I’m sure all the teams in the quarterfinals are feeling it now, but this team has a great work rate. They bring that toughness to every game and I don’t expect it to stop now.”

While the wind kept chances to a minimum, LAFC came close early with a header from Ivan Cervantes that flashed wide of goal. Luis Garcia and Anthony Dheming combined for another opportunity but Lonestar goalkeeper Agustin Vargas was quick off his line to end the threat.

His LAFC counterpart Josh McNeely, a U15 Boys National Team player, matched the feat of coming off line quickly after Lonestar midfielder Khalil Karl played a good through ball.

LAFC broke through minutes later when Jovanny Gomez rolled a pass to Christian Gomez, who slotted home despite claims for offside, and the Californians led 1-0.

Two of the Lonestar coaches were dismissed from the match shortly afterward, leaving former U.S. U20 Men’s National Team coach Wolfgang Suhnholz to lead the squad the rest of the way.

In the 2nd half, Lonestar’s Edgar Vazquez curled a free kick on target from 30 yards, but McNeely gathered it safely. Tucker Hume then appeared to have scored an equalizer, his shot eluding the LAFC goalkeeper, but a gust of wind, I kid you not, seemed to set the shot slightly off course and it hit the post. Another Lonestar chance came from a good run with the ball by Karl, but Kelvin Ponce made a vital tackle to avert the danger.

As the match wore down it was LAFC, with the wind at their back in the 2nd half, who had most of the chances, but the score remained 1-0.

LAFC captain Ivan Cervantes said the team knows it can play better, but expects to come out with a strong effort on Friday.

“We needed to keep the ball on the field and knock it around and make the other team run a lot so they would be more tired,” Cervantes said. “We could have done that better but the wind made it pretty hard.. Tonight we need to eat well and sleep good so we can come back tomorrow.”

Click here for more 2009 Dallas Cup Coverage

 

Thursday’s Quarterfinal Results

U13
Dallas Texans Red 1, Lehigh Valley United (PA) 0
(Emerson Hyndman scored the winning goal as Texans advanced.)

West Coast FC 2, Surf SC (CA) 0
Observers here are calling the West Coast team, which has a lot of size and speed, the team to beat in this age group.

Legends FC (CA) 0, West Pines United (FL) 0
Legends advanced on penalties

Southampton FC (UK) 2, Los Angeles FC Chelsea 0
The English side’s parent club are in financial difficulties back home, but the kids are alright.

(Friday Semifinals; Final to be played Saturday)
Dallas Texans Red vs. Southampton FC
Legends FC vs. West Coast FC

U14
CESA Premier 3, CD Independiente (TX) 1
The South Carolina side qualified with a wild card but continued with their tough tackling and excellent quickness to advance.

Irvine Strikers 5, Elgin Pumas (IL) 0
Juan Sanchez’s team continued their strong run through the field.

Albion White (CA) 0, Solar Red (TX) 0
Solar advances on penalties

Dallas Texans Red 6, De Anza Force Blue 0
Marcio Leite’s Texans had David Hudgell subbing in the coach’s box Thursday (all 12 matches kicked off at the same time), and didn’t seem to miss a beat.

(Friday Semifinals; Final to be played Saturday)
CESA Premier vs. Dallas Texans
Irvine Strikers vs. Albion White


U15
Pumas (MX) 2, Tigres (MX) 1 (OT)
Passions were running on the high side during this match.

CF Monterrey (MX) 3, De Anza Force Blue (CA) 1
De Anza scored via a penalty kick but were unable to keep the Mexican side out of their net.

Santa Clara Sporting (CA) 2, Dallas Texans U16 Academy 0
The match was scoreless with 10 minutes remaining, but the Californians broke through to reach the semifinal.

Los Angeles FC Chelsea 1, Lonestar Red (TX) 0
(see match report above)

(Friday Semifinals; Final to be played Saturday)
Pumas vs. Los Angeles FC Chelsea
Monterrey vs. Santa Clara Sporting


Friday Quarterfinal Pairings

U16 (Semifinals Friday; Final Sunday)
Santa Clara Sporting (CA) vs. Dallas Texans-Houston
South Bay Force (CA) vs. Ajax Gunners (CN)
Club Morumbi (MX) vs. Arsenal (CA)
Dallas Texans Red vs. Real SoCal (CA)

U17 (Semifinals Friday; Final Sunday)
Tigres (MX) vs. Lonestar Red (TX)
CF Monterrey (MX) vs. Oakville Gunners (CN)
Chicago Magic AS Monaco Academy vs. FC Dallas U16 Academy)
CZ Elite (CA) vs. Andromeda U16 Academy (TX)

U19 (Semifinals Friday; Final Saturday)
North Texas Strikers vs. Miami FC Kendall Academy (FL)
NV Fusion (CA) vs. FC Dallas U18 Academy (TX)
Dallas Texans U18 Academy vs. Royal Navy (UK)
Shattuck St. Marys (MN) vs. Solar SC U18 Academy (TX)

SuperGroup (Semifinals Friday; Final Sunday)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GE) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (CN)
Manchester City (UK) vs. Sao Paulo FC (BR)

Click here for more 2009 Dallas Cup Coverage