Eric "Gallo" Virgen

DENVER, Colo. – The Real Salt Lake Academy wrapped up a positive weekend at the Central Region’s first event of the Generation Adidas Cup in Denver, Colorado, which is a tournament presented by Major League Soccer to showcase MLS’s U-17 Academy teams.

The Academies are divided into three regions; east, central and west, and will participate in two qualifying events per region. Academies who advance out of the two region qualifiers will compete in a national event, which will correspond with the Dallas Cup in April 2014.

The Real Salt Lake U-17 Academy team faced the Colorado Rapids and Sporting Kansas City in matches that count toward the tournament standings. Their match against the Houston Dynamo is a friendly and will not count in the standings for either team.

Though, the GC Cup is officially a U-17 tournament, participating teams in Denver also brought up a U-15 team to participate in an exhibition event. The RSL U-15 team faced: Colorado, Chicago Fire and FC Dallas.

The next and final leg of the GA Cup Central Region matches will be held at the Grande Sports Academy on February 14th-17th.

Match recaps are below…

U-15

Match #1 (Friday, October 11th): Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids

Colorado’s initial blitzkrieg was too much for the Real Salt Lake defense, as the Rapids rolled to a 5-3 win over RSL in the opening match at the GA Cup for the Claret-and-Cobalt. RSL dug a themselves into a huge hole, as Colorado scored three goals within the opening 25 minutes of play. After a stern talking to by the coaches, a reorganized RSL attack caught a break in the 43rd-minute when Zico Bailey was taken down in the box. Captain Eric “Gallo” Virgen stepped up and converted the penalty kick. After the PK, Colorado and RSL traded goals for the next 18 minutes of play. Colorado extended their lead in the 45th-minute, which was then followed by an RSL goal in the 52nd-minute from Aaron Nixon. Gallo scored his second goal in the match, when he cut the Colorado lead to one in the 60th minute, but moment’s later Colorado scored their 5th and final goal, after the player who collected the ball appeared to be in a offside position. No call was given and the final goal from Colorado was a crushing blow to RSL, who was never able to recover.

Match #2 (Saturday, October 12th): Real Salt Lake vs. Chicago Fire

RSL’s comeback in the match the day before against Colorado, which saw them outscore the Rapids 3-2 in the second half, was instrumental for the U-15s, as they once again displayed a never-say-die attitude against the Chicago Fire in a 2-2 draw. The Fire were able to light up the scoreboard first, when cross from the corner deflected off of an RSL player and into the net for an unfortunate own goal. Four minutes later, Becca Rice stole the ball from the Fire goalkeeper and scored the equalizer for RSL. Seconds after the halftime break, RSL took the lead in a match for the first time in the Cup, when Nestor Serrano sent in a screamer from the edge of the 18. The joyous occasion was short-lived, as the Fire stormed back and scored the final goal of the match in the 45th-minute.

Match #3 (Monday, October 14th): Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas

The Claret-and-Cobalt saved their best for last and played their most complete game in a 2-1 win over FC Dallas on Monday. Gallo opened up the scoring for RSL in the 16th-miute when he scored his third goal in the GA Cup, from a penalty kick. FC Dallas were on the fortunate end in the 22nd-minute when a poor giveaway by the RSL defense gave FC Dallas an easy equalizer. However, as RSL showed all weekend long, the players on the pitch continued to push and scored the eventual match winning goal in the 48th-minute when Easton Embley headed a free kick into the back of the Dallas net. RSL’s defense was up to the task in the final minutes and held on for their first win at the 2013 GA Cup.

U-17

Match #1 (Friday, October 11th): Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids

The Claret-and-Cobalt never felt as if they were out of the match, but a few questionable missed calls were enough to propel Colorado to a 3-2 opening group stage win over RSL. The Rapids jumped out to the lead in the 8th-minute, which was quickly equalized by Brooks Lennon on a brilliant free kick in the 13th minute. Colorado took the lead back in 21st-minute and added an important insurance goal in the 57th-minute on a penalty kick. The final goal for Colorado proved to be the eventual match winning goal, as Lennon scored his second goal in the match on a penalty kick in the 68th-minute. RSL pushed for the equalizer, but were stymied by a stout Rapids defense, which was able to hold on for the 3-2 win.

Match #2 (Saturday, October 12th): Real Salt Lake vs. Houston Dynamo

In the lone friendly match at the GA Cup for the Real Salt Lake U-17 team, the Claret-and-Cobalt had an opportunity to enact a little revenge on the Houston Dynamo, who defeated RSL at the Finals Week in July. What proceeded next was one of the most complete matches for any Academy team this season in a 5-1 win thrashing. A clever sequence between Lennon and Diego “Diablo” Silva resulted in a through ball to Sebastian “Bofo” Saucedo, who calmly opened up the scoring in the 8th-minute. Lennon scored the second goal for RSL in the 16th-minute when he finished his effort from a Fito Ovalle pass. Lennon scored his 4th goal at the Cup when he converted a free kick in the 30th minute. Saucedo added another in the 65th and Terrell Lowe scored RSL’s final goal in the 74th-minute.

Match #3 (Monday, October 14th): Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City

The Claret-and-Cobalt picked up where they left off on Sunday and defeated Sporting Kansas City 5-1 in the final match at the first region event in the GA Cup. Josh Doughty, who is having an outstanding season thus far for the RSL Academy, created nightmare scenarios for the SKC defense, as he scored the opening goal in the 36th-minute and added another in the 53rd-minute. In the 43rd-minute, Doughty was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Saucedo calmly finished the effort for his first of two goals in the match. Saucedo would score his second goal late in the second half. As the match came to a close Lowe once again scored the final goal for RSL, who outscored their opponents 13-4 in the three matches at the Denver GA Cup Region event.