niko gonzalez

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – The coaching staff at the Grande Sports Academy home of the Real Salt Lake – Arizona Academy is preparing for one massive weekend of soccer, as the RSL-AZ U-16 & U-18 Elite teams are set to participate in Presidents Day Tournament in Phoenix, while the Real Salt lake U-17 and U-15 will play hosts to a handful on Major League Soccer Academy teams at the Grande Sports World for the second leg of the 2013-14 Generation Adidas Cup. FULL WEEKEND SCHEDULE BELOW

Generation Adidas Cup

The GA Cup is a showcase of MLS’s U-17 Academy teams. Academies are divided into three regions; east, central and west, and will participate in two qualifying events per region, and then they compete in a national event during April 2014 alongside international teams. The RSL U-17 Academy team has been placed in the central region with: Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City.

In the first leg of the GA Cup, which was held in Denver, Colorado, the RSL U-17 Academy team dropped the opening match 3-2 to hosts Colorado Rapids and rolled to a 5-1 win over Sporting Kansas City in the second match. Currently, the RSL U-17 team holding the third position in the Central Region standings with three points.

This weekend the RSL U-17 Academy team will open up second leg play against FC Dallas on Friday, February 14th, at 6:00 PM and the following day the Claret-and-Cobalt will square off against Chicago Fire with kick off set for 6:00 PM. The U-17s will wrap up the 2013 GA Cup against Houston Dynamo on Monday, February 17th, at 10:00 AM.

An MLS Academy U-15 showcase will be held alongside the GA Cup this weekend at the Grande Sports World. The RSL U-15 Academy team participated in a similar event at the first leg of the GA Cup. There they lost the opening match to Colorado Rapids 5-3, drew Chicago Fire 2-2 in the second match and close out the showcase with a 2-1 win over FC Dallas.

This weekend the RSL U-15 Academy team will face Toronto FC on Friday, February 14th at 2:00 PM and will take on FC Dallas on Saturday, February 15th with kickoff set for 11:00 AM. The U-15s will close out the showcase against Colorado on Monday, February 17th at 9:00 AM.

Presidents Day Tournament

The RSL-AZ U-16 Elite team will be looking to continue to impressive start to its 2014 campaign, while the RSL-AZ U-18 Elite team will be participating in its first action of the new calendar year.

Last week, the RSL-AZ U-16 Elite team won all three matches at the Desert Classic Tournament and won the Gold Group. This weekend the U-16 Elite team will kick off Presidents Day Tournament against Alaskan club Cook Inlet SC Velocity on Friday, February 14th, at 6:00 PM. The will face New Mexico club Rio SC Red Gunners on the following day at 5:15 PM and will square off against Trebol SC on Sunday, February 16th, at 10:15 AM. Depending on results, the U-16s may play Sunday night or Monday morning

The U-18 Elite team will open its 2014 campaign on Friday, February 14th against Arsenal Colorado Royal at 7:45 PM. The following day they will take on Foothills SC 96 at 3:30 PM and will close out group play on Sunday, February 16th against Forza DC 96. Depending on results, the U-18s may play Sunday night or Monday morning. Tournament rules are as follows:

DETERMINATION OF GROUP WINNERS/WILD CARDS: In group play, there will be no overtime matches