The Seattle Sounders Academy U-17s are off to Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo., this weekend for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Championships, where they will face Barca Academy AZ in the national semifinal on Sunday, July 8, at 11:30 a.m. PT.
It will be a pivotal moment for the young Sounders, who finished the regular season as the second-ranked team in the USSDA, as they look to repeat recent successes at the Youdan Trophy tournament and Generation adidas Cup.
If the Sounders advance past Barca Academy, they’ll face either the Montreal Impact, who they defeated 2-1 in the GA Cup semifinals back in March, or Atlanta United.
How They Got Here
The Sounders finished atop Group C, rattling off three wins from three matches and scoring an eye-popping 15 goals.
In the quarterfinals, Seattle defeated a composed, dynamic Columbus Crew SC side 3-1. This was the same team that the Sounders defeated in penalties in the GA Cup en route to the title.
The U-17s jumped out to 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when midfielder Marlon Vargas, who signed with S2 on May 12, recovered possession in the Crew’s defensive third, drove into the box and split three defenders with a trivela pass to his S2 teammate, Ray Serrano, who controlled the ball and slid his volley past the goalkeeper.
Ray Serrano scores the opening goal in the U-17s 3-1 win over Columbus Crew SC
Seattle doubled its advantage nine minutes later when striker Alec Diaz laid off a pass for Vargas at the top of the box, who calmly curled his first-time effort into the top corner. The Crew pulled one back in the 33rd, but the young Sounders put the match to bed in the first minute of the second half, with Serrano spinning his marker and crossing for Diaz to finish from close range.
“I thought that the players in the key moments really managed the game well,” said U-17 Head Coach Chris Little. “There were some strong individual performances, but overall I think it was just a really good team performance.”
Scouting the Opposition
The Sounders and Barca AZ faced off in the first match of the regular season back in September 2017, with the Rave Green winning 5-4 behind goals from Serrano (3), Danny Robles and Leo Burney. In a back-and-forth affair, Serrano provided the game-winning goal in the 90th minute, completing his hat trick.
Finishing the regular season fourth in the USSDA Southwest Division, Barca AZ qualified for the playoffs as the top-seeded team in the wildcard pool. They advanced to the quarterfinals by finishing atop Group H, which included the Philadelphia Union, Vancouver Whitecaps and Orlando City SC, as they won all three matches, scoring seven goals. In the quarterfinals, Barca went toe-to-toe with the New York Red Bulls, who the Sounders defeated in the GA Cup final, and came out 3-1 winners.
One player to watch is defender Julian Araujo, a regular with the U.S. U-18's men’s national team.
Coach’s Take
“We’re probably the youngest teams in the playoffs,” said Little. “I think over the course of the year, we’ve had a massive period of growth. Our players’ understanding of our game model and our identity has improved over the course of the year. We’ve really come together and we know we’ve got good depth. Generally, we just have a better understanding of our style and how we play and how we want to impose our identity as the Seattle Sounders on our opposition.”
