Chivas USA U18 Academy Team Advances in Playoffs

Great news for the future! Chivas USA's U17/18 Youth Academy squad has been playing in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoffs this week in Dallas, and they've topped their group and will advance to Finals Week next month in Houston! Today, they wrapped up their advancement with a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls Academy team, with a goal from forward Ben Spencer, who you may recall trained with the Chivas first time in preseason and has been playing with the senior reserves since last season.

On Monday, Chivas started their playoff campaign with a 2-1 win over Charlotte Soccer Academy, with goals from Spencer and Mark Verso. They followed that up with a 4-3 win on Tuesday over the New England Revolution Academy squad, and then tied the young Red Bulls today to finish atop Group 6 in the 32 team field. Finals Week, which will take place July 16-23, will be an eight team tournament, starting with group play divided into two groups of four. Well done to the U18 team! They are in a good position to bring home the national championship and best of luck to them next month!

Meanwhile, the U15/16 Chivas USA Academy team is also in Dallas, but instead of the playoffs they are featuring in a showcase, for experience and to get more games in pressurized situations. They opened play on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over North Meck FC, with goals from Romario Lomeli, Ryo Fuji and Josh Perez. They followed that up with another 3-1 win over Baltimore Bays Chelsea Wednesday. Goals for the baby Goats came from Lomeli again, who had two, and Caleb Calvert. They finish up the showcase tomorrow with a match against the San Jose Earthquakes Academy squad. Well done, and good luck in finishing up in Dallas!

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