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From MLS:
Four MLS Academies Complete Clean Sweep at2021-22 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs
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Four champions were crowned in the 2021-22 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs on Saturday and Sunday night, culminating a 10-month long regular season and week-long MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase event in the Dallas metroplex. The second-ever MLS NEXT Cup champions all came from MLS academy programs: U15 Inter Miami CF, U16 D.C. United, U17 Philadelphia Union, and U19 New England Revolution. All four championship matches were played at Toyota Stadium, home to MLS club FC Dallas. The MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs is a single-elimination competition featuring the top 32 teams in each of four age groups - U15, U16, U17, and U19. Teams qualified for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs based on their play in the regular season or by winning their respective group at the inaugural MLS NEXT Flex, which took place in May. The event capped off a successful season that included over 7,000 matches played across all age divisions.Below is a breakdown of each championship match, as well as the standouts from each of the four competing age divisions. U15 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: Inter Miami CFInter Miami CF thwarted Real Salt Lake’s defense of the U15 title, winning 2-1 in the U15 title game and taking home the MLS NEXT Cup crown. Miami got off to a fast start, scoring in the 13th minute off the head of Victor Fun following a cross by Santiago Morales – son of RSL legend Javier Morales. Morales extended the club’s lead to 2-0, finishing on a strong one-timer from outside the box in the 26th minute. Real Salt Lake closed the gap to one on a penalty kick from Zavier Gozo , his fifth goal of the tournament, but the club was unable to close the gap any further. Morales earned tournament MVP honors for the U15 division.Download full match highlights HERE U15 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
U16 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: D.C. UnitedD.C. United secured the first trophy of the weekend, defeating Strikers FC of California 1-0 in the first of four championship matches. D.C. United’s Sydney Aggrey recorded his fourth goal of the tournament in the game’s sixth minute of play, as he knocked the ball loose from an opposing player before taking a touch on the edge of the box and firing a low shot past the Strikers FC goalkeeper, Dylan Kaye. Kaye’s sensational play in goal kept his club within one score; however, they could not capitalize as D.C. held onto the 1-0 advantage for the duration of the match. Marcus Lee of Strikers FC was named the tournament MVP in the U16 division.Download full match highlights HERE.U16 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
U17 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: Philadelphia UnionIn the highest scoring of the four championship matches, Philadelphia erased a 2-0 second-half deficit behind a brace from Marcos Zambrano-Delgado to defeat the Columbus Crew U17s in the exciting U17 finale. Columbus opened the scoring in first-half added time as Taha Habroune was taken down in the box and converted the penalty kick to give his club a 1-0 halftime advantage. The Crew extended their lead just 35 seconds into the second half, as Joshua Bartels received a perfectly placed pass from Owen Presthus and finished with his head to give his team a 2-0 lead.However, the high-scoring Union attack quickly bounced back. In the 54th minute, Zambrano-Delgado glanced a header inside the back post off a corner to cut the deficit to one. The equalizer came off the head of David Vazquez in the 67th minute following a cross from Luciano Sanchez, before Zambrano-Delgado scored the club’s third and deciding goal in the 73rd minute, driving a low shot from the edge of the box for the game-winning score. Zambrano-Delgado scored seven goals in the tournament, earning him the age group’s Top Scorer award for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs.Download full match highlights HERE.U17 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
U19 MLS NEXT Cup Champions: New England RevolutionThe New England Revolution U19 squad received an early goal off the foot of Jack Panayotou in the sixth minute and held off the San Francisco Glens attack throughout the match to earn a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the U19 title match. Panayotou was on the receiving end of an early ball from teammate Triton Beauvois, who found his teammate streaking through the box to give the club a 1-0 advantage. Kevin Rodriguez Andrade, the Top Scorer in the U19 age division, attempted the immediate response on behalf of the Glens with a stinging shot from the edge of the area that Revolution goalkeeper Max Weinstein could only put out for a corner. San Francisco’s late attack was stifled by Weinstein, whose strong play in goal helped his club to a historic victory.Download full match highlights HERE.U19 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs Individual Awards
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