The first day of Generation adidas Cup qualifying kicked off on Friday with a full slate of action at Houston Sports Park.
U-15: Vancouver Whitecaps 3, Houston Dynamo 1
A second-half brace from Vancouver forward Maximilian Comsia lifted the Whitecaps over the Houston Dynamo this afternoon at Houston Sports Park, finishing the match 3-1. Houston shot first when forward Iyke Dafe dribbled the ball into the box and shot, forcing a save from Whitecaps goalkeeper Cohen Park. The Dynamo continued to test their luck when forward Jhosua Jory received a cross inside the box and shot, forcing another save. Vancouver took an early lead when forward Michael Hennessy picked up a loose ball in the box, dribbled around a defender and shot into the net in the 14th minute. The Dynamo pressed early in the second half when Dafe tried to punch a cross in, missing just wide of the left of the goal. Vancouver took advantage of a couple of defensive mistakes when Comsia scored the second goal in the 50th minute. Seven minutes later, Comsia was able to find his second goal of the match through a header. Dynamo forward Joseph Farouz found the net for Houston in the 59th minute when he converted with a right-footed ball off of a corner kick.
U-17: Los Angeles FC 3, Colorado Rapids 2
LAFC defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-2 in the first U-17 match of the weekend. Both teams’ goalkeepers were tested less than five minutes into the match. The Rapids goalkeeper, Isaac Nehme, turned away an onslaught of shots from LAFC early in the first half, before midfielder Christopher Jaime capitalized on a Colorado giveaway in the back and broke the tie with a 27th minute goal for LAFC. Two minutes later, forward Arnold Giron doubled LAFC’s lead. The strong showing from LAFC’s attack continued into the second half, with forward Nathan Ordaz finding the back of an empty net in the 55th minute. Colorado was able to pull one back when left winger Maclovio Swett beat LAFC’s goalkeeper to a loose ball and tapped in a 56th minute goal for the Rapids. Midfielder Saul Cisneros, a 60th minute sub for the Rapids, kept Colorado’s comeback hopes alive with a 65th minute goal, but that proved to be the final goal of the match.
U-15: Los Angeles FC 1, Colorado Rapids 0
LAFC defeated the Colorado Rapids 1-0 in a defensive battle during the second match of the afternoon. Both teams struggled to maintain possession or break into their opponent’s final third throughout the contest. Forward Alixson Soukup of LAFC provided the only chances of the first half, streaking down the left sideline and forcing two separate saves from the Rapids goalkeeper, Nicolas Anzures. The match entered halftime in a scoreless draw, but both teams came out firing to start the second half. In the 48th minute, LAFC midfielder Alexander Salas fired a shot from long range that forced a diving save from Anzures. Colorado’s first chance of the match came in the 52nd minute, when left back Sean Belzer’s corner kick found center back Griffin Moore at the far post, but Moore’s shot was just wide of the goal. It seemed the match would end in a draw with both teams failing to convert on the few chances provided, until LAFC’s Jr Verastegui, a 55th minute sub, earned a penalty kick in the final seconds. Midfielder Diego Ceja stepped up and calmly slotted home the 90th minute winner.
U-17: Portland Timbers 2, FC Dallas 0
The Portland Timbers defeated FC Dallas in an evening faceoff, 2-0. Midfielder Gerardo Duran found the back of the net in the 30th minute when forward Tega Ikoba crossed a ball into the box through three Dallas defenders and punched the ball in. Dallas shot first ten minutes into the first-half whistle when forward Philip Akem found the ball in the box and shot towards the middle of the goal forcing a save from Timbers goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly. Through a mishap from Dallas, Portland scored the second goal when Ikoba scored three minutes into the second half. FC Dallas continued to press but was not able to find the back of the net.
U-15: Portland Timbers 1, FC Dallas 4
The FC Dallas 15s kicked off their tournament with a comeback 4-1 victory over the Portland Timbers in the final match of the evening. Center midfielder Yojany Espiritu opened the scoring when he was able to get a shot past the FC Dallas goalkeeper in the 20th minute, but FC Dallas wasted no time in responding. In the 30th minute, right forward Anthony Ramirez pulled Dallas level. Left forward Kevin Kelley then scored in the 35th minute to give Dallas a 2-1 halftime lead. In the second half, Kelley put the contest out of reach with goals in the 64th and 79th minutes to complete his hat trick.
U-17: Vancouver Whitecaps 0, Houston Dynamo 1
The Houston Dynamo 17s opened their tournament with a strong 1-0 victory over a tough Vancouver Whitecaps team. From the opening whistle, the Dynamo controlled the match, getting off numerous shots that were either blocked by a Whitecaps defender or saved by the Whitecaps goalkeeper, Ben Alexander. In the 36th minute, Houston took control with a Joyner Castillo Mejia goal. The right forward beat two Whitecaps defenders to a loose ball and fired a shot across Alexander’s face into the far-side netting. Vancouver was held to one shot in the first half, and goalkeeper Logan Erb made a diving save to his right. The second half featured much of the same dominance from the Dynamo, but they were unable to increase their lead. The Whitecaps had two quality chances late in the match. In the 85th minute, Erb again made a diving save to his right, and in the final seconds, a Whitecaps shot sailed just wide of the mark to preserve the Dynamo shutout victory.
