The 2018-19 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season has come to a close and two Quakes Academy squads will be heading to the USSDA playoffs at SoCal Sports Complex in Oceanside, Calif. from June 17-29.
U-15 Girls’ Academy | 1st Seed
If you haven’t heard about our U-15 Girls’ Academy team, where have you been? With a 28-0-3 record, the Quakes became the first U-15 squad to record an undefeated season in USSDA history. The talent-laden Quakes finished the year with the best offense in the country, scoring 108 goals, and were tied for the best defense in the nation after conceding only 17.
It’s rare for any athlete to announce their college commitments before they turn 15, but this No. 1 ranked squad is breaking the mold. In 2019, six players from the U-15 Quakes committed to NCAA Division I soccer programs: Elise Evans (Stanford), America Frias (UCLA), Kathryn Kelly (UCLA), Peyton Marcisz (UCLA), Elle Piper (Duke) and Julia Saunicheva (UCLA). With all this talent nurtured by Girls’ Academy director Andres Deza, expect the girls to make a deep run in the playoffs.
U-19 Boys’ Academy | 13th Seed
With a 13-4-7 record, the U-19s finished third in the USSDA Northwest Division with a +16 goal-differential and averaged 1.92 points per match. During the course of the regular season, several of the U-19s joined first-team training on a weekly basis under head coach Matias Almeyda.
Stanford University commits Cameron Cilley and Keegan Tingey led the U-19s in matches started in the 2018-19 USSDA season with 22 and 21, respectively. Cilley and Tingey were also among five players on the Quakes who were tied for second-most goals scored with five (Jerry Ayon, Ricardo Ibarra and Fahmi Ibrahim). Ricky Mendez led the U-19s in scoring in the regular season with seven goals in seven starts.
Homegrown defender Jacob Akanyirige may join the U-19s in the playoffs depending on his first-team and Reno 1868 FC commitments. The 17-year-old center back has tallied 10 starts for the U-19s this season and has been training with the first-team on a daily basis.
For updates on the 2018-19 playoffs, stay tuned to the Quakes Academy’ social media pages found here.
