TUKWILA, Wash. – Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy suffered its first poor results of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy season over the weekend in Washington, losing both games against Seattle Sounders FC and drawing both games with Crossfire Premier.
Seattle Sounders FC 3-1 Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy U-17/18
Looking to avenge last season’s playoff defeat against Seattle, RSL-AZ U-17/18 entered the first match of the weekend motivated and ready to go.
Damian German, a member of last season’s U-17/18 team, opened the scoring for RSL-AZ in the 32nd minute, giving the team a 1-0 lead headed into half time.
The Sounders struck back immediately in the second half, however, netting an equalizer and go-ahead goal from Sean Bowman in the 47th and 52nd minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
Seattle settled the game in the 73rd minute when Luis “Wicho” Barraza collided into a Sounders player in the box, earning a red card and giving the home team a penalty to take a 3-1 lead and the eventual win.
Seattle Sounders FC 3-1 Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy U-15/16
In the second half of the doubleheader against the Sounders, RSL-AZ U-15/16 set out to extend their two-game winning streak and climb up the Southwest Division standings.
After a scoreless first half in which the Claret-and-Cobalt struggled to create chances, Seattle’s 16s copied their 18s and scored two quick goals to open the half.
Goals from Alex Kirtsov and Johnny Reynolds in the 46th and 52nd minutes gave Seattle a commanding lead for the final thirty minutes of the game.
The lone highlight of the second half for RSL-AZ came in the 67th minute, when Robby Orona scored his first academy goal to bring the deficit back down to one.
Seattle was persistent, with Barry Habib scoring shortly after Orona’s goal to give the Sounders the 3-1 lead and complete the sweep over both RSL-AZ teams.
Crossfire Premier 3-3 Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy U-17/18
In hopes of ending the Pacific Northwest road trip on a positive note, RSL-AZ U-17/18 took the field against Crossfire Premier with their eyes on all three points.
Crossfire opened the scoring near the end of the first half, finishing in the 40th minute to take a 1-0 lead and looking poised to take the lead into half time.
The Claret-and-Cobalt were desperate for the three points, scoring two late first half goals thanks to Damian German and Edgar Duran to snatch the 2-1 lead just before the whistle.
That momentum continued into the early minutes of the second half, as Damian German scored in the 55th minute to give RSL-AZ a 3-1 lead.
Crossfire struck back, however, scoring from a penalty kick in the 61st minute and from the run of play in the 69th to even the game up at 3-3 and force RSL-AZ U-17/18 to settle for the draw.
Crossfire Premier 1-1 Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy U-15/16
RSL-AZ U-15/16 faced off against Crossfire Premier with the goal of salvaging the road trip with a win in the final game of the weekend.
The win was in sight in the 35th minute, when Miles Stray headed home a free kick to give RSL-AZ a 1-0 lead at the half time break.
Crossfire put a damper on that goal in the 60th minute, equalizing thanks to a Simon Lekressner goal to even up the game at one goal apiece.
RSL-AZ failed to score another goal in the 1-1 draw, earning the academy only two points out of a possible twelve over the course of the road trip.
Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy takes a break from USSDA competition next week for the first round of group games in the Generation Adidas Cup in Beaverton, Oregon. RSL-AZ faces the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday, October 10, the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, October 11 and Chivas USA on Monday, October 13.