In an eventful past three days at IMG Academy down in Florida, both the U15 and U17 sides for Red Bulls Academy thrived in group play during the 2024 Generation Adidas Cup.
The two groups were able to advance to the tournament’s playoffs after competing in three matches a piece within their respective groups. Red Bulls Academy is one of only five academy representatives to have both their U15 and U17 sides make it past group play in the tournament.
Both playoff matchups will be tomorrow, April 4th, as the U15 side is set to face Real Salt Lake Academy at 12:00 p.m. ET, and the U17s will match up against Croatian side HNK Hajduk Split at 5:00 p.m. ET.
U15
Match 1 - Toulouse FC
In a hard-fought battle between two top academies, one goal from Toulouse at the end of the first half ended up being the difference. The U15s would not let the result keep their heads down, as they would show their top form over the next two matches.
Match 2 – Houston Dynamo FC
With the group needing a positive result to keep their hopes of advancing to the next stage alive, the boys showed an incredible amount of determination against a strong Houston side. Goals by Deven Cadigan and Desmond Chemweno contributed to an eventual 2-2 score line at the end of regulation. Having been all tied up, the two sides went to a shootout to earn a second point in the group standings.
There is no better way to describe the resiliency of this Red Bulls Academy group than the shootout that followed the match. After FOURTEEN rounds, the boys were able to come out on top, 12-11, to secure the second point and help their chances of advancing.
Match 3 – Seattle Sounders FC
While the previous two matches had been tight contests with not much separation in terms of goal scoring, the U15s final match against Seattle was just the opposite. The squad made a statement in a 3-0 victory to secure their spot in the next round of the tournament. Goals from Josh Jimenez, Paul Sokoloff, and Matthew Jean Baptiste were the difference makers in the convincing win. Additionally of note in the match was the fantastic performances by the back line and goalkeeper Tobias Szewczyk to keep the clean sheet.
U17
Match 1 – LA Galaxy
In similar fashion to the U15s, the U17 group put up a resilient performance in their tournament opening match but were unable to secure any points in the standings. Gil De Souza had the lone goal in a 3-1 loss as the boys looked to keep their energy up heading into their next match against Orlando City SC.
Match 2 – Orlando City SC
In their second match of group play, the U17 group showed exactly what they are capable of in a dominant showing against Orlando. Coming off a loss in which they allowed three goals, the boys turned around to scored three of their own to earned their first three points in the group. Davi Alexandre and Raymond Diouf had the goals for New York in addition to an own goal that helped the boys cruise to a 3-0 victory. The match showed that this group’s back line was still up to the task in this tournament and managed to maintain the clean sheet with help from a great performance from goalkeeper Joshua Grant.
Match 3 – C.F. Monterrey
To round out group play, New York were set to try and solidify their spot in the playoffs against C.F. Monterrey. In a tightly contested battle, the U17s showed exactly what they were made of and came out on top, 2-1. Ryan Scuro and Eric Velasquez were on the score sheet for New York as the group earned all three points and earned the chance to continue their journey for a Generation Adidas Cup title.
