While the older members of Sounders Academy had the weekend off, the U-14 and U-15 squads were in action on the road in Oregon. Each team played a pair of matches against older opposition in the Farwest Regional League, which is comprised of the top club sides from Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The young Sounders won all four matches as some of the club’s brightest prospects put in excellent performances.
On Saturday, both teams displayed their offensive firepower in matches against Oregon club powerhouse, BSC Portland. The U-15s lined up in a 3-5-2 in an effort to press high up the pitch and dominate the middle third. With nearly 80 percent possession on the day, as well as a hat-trick courtesy of striker Alec Diaz and a brace from wingback Camilo Santiago, the formational change certainly paid dividends. The Sounders won in a route, 6-0.
Since the U-16s did not have a match, the U-14s who routinely play up were available for the game with BSC. The benefits of playing up were immediately evident as the Rave Green entered the interval up 4-0 courtesy of goals from U-16 regulars Alfonso Ocampo Chavez, Danny Robles and Ray Serrano. In the second half, Dominic Koester and Thai Wichienwitdhtaya came off the bench to round out the scoring in a convincing 6-1 win. All of the Sounders’ strikes came as a result of the squad’s build-up play and excellent interchanges in the final third.
Recent Results
U-15
- Sounders FC 6 at BSC Portland (U-16) 0 | Feb. 4, 2017
- Sounders FC 5 at Portland City United (U-16) 3 | Feb. 5, 2017
U-14
- Sounders FC 6 at BSC Portland (U-15) 1 | Feb. 4, 2017
- Sounders FC 5 at FC West Inter (U-15) 4 | Feb. 5, 2017
While both sides struggled defensively the next day, there was plenty of offense on display to ensure a pair of victories.
Striker Marlon Vargas, another regular with the U-16s, put on a mercurial display against Portland City United. After the young Sounders fell behind 1-0, Vargas equalized with a fantastic solo effort. The crafty striker beat two defenders off the dribble and produced a Ronaldinho-esque toe-poke to the far post past the goalkeeper from the end line. He then handed Seattle the lead after an inventive give-and-go exchange in the box with Jourdan Furukawa. Vargas wrapped up the 5-3 win when he set up two more goals a minute on either side of halftime, while Ethan O’Brien rounded out the scoresheet with a strike in the 70th minute.
Ocampo Chavez upped his goal tally for the weekend to five with two first-half strikes in the Sounders’ 5-4 win over FC West Inter. Both goals were set up by deep-lying midfielder, and Ocampo Chavez’s U-15 U.S. national teammate, Josh Atencio. Up 3-0 at the interval, Inter battled back to level the score in the 60th minute, but a composed strike from Sintayehu Clements and a calm PK finished by Ray Serrano handed the young Sounders the win.
While winning four matches on the road in difficult conditions is certainly a plus, the Academy staff prioritizes performances over results at these age groups. With 22 goals scored and some expansive, attacking soccer on display, the performances lined up with the results.
“These young players are our future teams and we have a very keen eye on them,” said Academy Technical Director Marc Nicholls. “They have a lot of talent and attacking ability, and there are some players coming through that we’re really excited about.”
