FRISCO, Texas - The FC Dallas Academy had two Dallas Cup victories in one day as the 07 ECNL team won the U16 Girls division before the U12 Boys North Academy won its final at Toyota Soccer Center.
FC Dallas 07 ECNL 2, ODP National Select 1
The FC Dallas Girls Academy defeated ODP National 2-1 thanks to two goals from Holly Storer to claim the U16 Dallas Cup title Friday morning at Toyota Stadium.
"It's a great win," said Matt Grubb, Director of the FC Dallas Girls Academy. "Considering the adversity we fought through this week with injuries and missing players, it's a huge credit to those 12-13 girls who pulled us through against a great team."
Forward Charli Harris nearly opened the scoring for Dallas in the 17th minute but her shot trickled just wide of the far post after some good work from Holly Storer to win the ball in ODP’s box.
Storer nearly found the opener three minutes before halftime when a deflected clearance fell to her in the box but her bouncing shot looped over the crossbar. Two minutes later, Storer put FC Dallas in front with a well-placed shot into the top corner from the right side of the box after collecting a pass from Annabella DeGregorio.
Samira Minor was close to finding FCD’s second goal in the 53rd minute with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box but ODP’s goalkeeper pushed it away for a corner kick.
Storer doubled Dallas’ lead in the 58th minute when she blocked the goalkeeper’s attempted clearances and nodded the ball into an empty net for her second goal of the day. ODP found a lifeline with eight minutes left in regulation after a corner kick caused chaos in Dallas’ box and the ODP forward was able to scramble it in from close range to make it 2-1 but Dallas was able to hold their one-goal lead to lift the trophy.
"She was unbelievable today," Grubb said of the match-winner Storer. "She's a sniper in big games, she always rises to the occasion. She's one of our best kids in the program. Truly a special talent."
FC Dallas Boys U12 North 3, SoCal Elite FC 1
By Aiden Trusty
The FC Dallas Boys U12 Academy team won its Dallas Cup Final Friday morning with a 3-1 score over SoCal Elite FC at Toyota Soccer Center.
SoCal Elite FC opened the scoring in the first half with a solo run down the center of the pitch by their center forward. FC Dallas entered halftime down 1-0 with everything to play for in the second interval.
Coming out of the halftime break with great energy and a good string of possession, FC Dallas found the equalizer with forward Elvis Pineda finding the net with a rocket of a shot. The game remained tense as both teams fought to take the lead. After a dominant display of passing play, the ball was crossed into the box where forward Benjamin Flowers trapped and turned with the ball before firing a shot into the back of the net. Within a minute of scoring the second goal, FC Dallas knocked out SoCal Elite with a third goal and the second of the day for Elvis Pineda, making the score 3-1.
This was a great result for the U12 Academy team, but not something completely unexpected according to their head coach, Phil Gomez.
“We set the goal last September to get to the Dallas Cup final and win it, so it’s been fun to actually accomplish that.”
With the result in mind, Gomez made sure to highlight the importance of keeping true to the way FC Dallas should play, “In the past, I’ve seen Dallas Cup have a particular style of play with other teams playing directly, but with FC Dallas we have a style where we want to keep the ball and possess. It’s very difficult for them at this age, but it’s fun and rewarding for them to win while staying true to our concepts.”
The FCD Boys Academy could have another Dallas Cup champion soon. The U13 team advanced to the championship game and will face the Dallas Texans Saturday, April 8 at 9AM at Toyota Stadium.
