After the St. Louis CITY SC Academy U-15s, U-16s and U-17s reached the halfway points of their regular seasons ahead of MLS NEXT Fest in early December and remained on a hiatus through January, the teams officially resumed play in late February and into early March. Since returning to the pitch, the boys have wasted no time rekindling the Academy’s excellence from the first half of the regular season. With all three teams in action at home last weekend, the Academy posted a combined 2-2-2 record, which gives the teams an overall line of 6-2-4 since restarting regular season play.
U-15s off to strong start
The U-15s were the first team to suit back up for regular season play, blanking local side St. Louis Scott Gallagher in a two-goal victory on February 26. Remaining undefeated over their next two matches through a 2-2 draw against Houston Dynamo U-15s and a 3-2 victory over Minnesota United FC U-15s, the U-15s suffered their first defeat since the season restart in a 4-0 loss to Columbus Crew U-15s this past weekend.
However, the boys bounced back the following day in their match against FC Cincinnati U-15s. Midfielder Mateo Hayes recorded the team’s lone goal in what finished as a 1-1 draw.
U-16s fire on all cylinders
Only one opponent managed to outplay the U-16s during the first half of the season, and the boys’ streak of dominance has continued since the second half of their season got underway. After prevailing in a tight 1-0 matchup against St. Louis Scott Gallagher on March 4, the boys picked up two more results last weekend to push their regular season unbeaten streak to three matches.
In their first contest, the U-16s earned another close victory with a one-goal shutout of Michigan Jaguars, with the game-winner coming from forward Chidube Nwankwo off a feed from midfielder Sam Goldstein. The following day, they faced off against Bavarian United SC. Despite conceding a pair of goals, the boys earned a 2-2 draw via contributions from forward Grady Lewis and Nwankwo. Across their regular season and MLS NEXT Fest matches this season, the U-16s are now a combined 17-1-3.
U-17s find the back of the net with ease
Headlined by a decisive 7-1 win over Minnesota United U-17s, the boys have had no trouble scoring goals since resuming regular season play. In their first match back on March 2, the U-17s struck true twice in a 2-2 draw against Houston Dynamo U-17s, while the boys netted another six goals over their two matches this past weekend.
Facing off against Columbus Crew U-17s in their first match of the weekend, the boys got on the board three times to edge the visitors in an intense 3-2 victory. Two of those goals came off set piece services from midfielder Carson Locker, with defender Tommy Pratl slotting the ball home on both occasions, to go along with a strike from midfielder Beckham Williams. Against FC Cincinnati U-17s the following day, forward Ryan Dugan notched a brace and Locker picked up another assist by setting up defender Jacksen McNeal for a goal, but the boys’ offensive output wasn’t quite enough in the 4-3 loss.
What’s Next?
The U-15s, U-16s and U-17s will all head across the river to Illinois for away matches against FC United Soccer Club on Saturday, March 16.
