The Dynamo Academy split results last weekend against northern rivals FC Dallas at Houston Sports Park.
The U-18s were unfortunate to go down a goal just before the halftime break, but came back with four second-half goals to claim a 4-2 victory and stay undefeated in USSDA play (3-0-1; 9 points). Defender Sterling Noriega headed home a Christian Lucatero corner kick to tie the match ten minutes after half. Charlie Flores volleyed a cross from Kevin Rodriguez less than five minutes later to give the Dynamo the advantage, but the lead was relinquished soon after. Roberto Marquez put the Dynamo on top for good in the 72nd minute, however, curling a shot from the penalty spot after receiving the ball from Josue Palomino and dribbling past a defender. Lucatero put the game on ice with less than 10 minutes to play with a low, left-footed shot from 20 yards out into the corner. The victory puts the Dynamo alone at the top of the Central Conference standings early in the year.
"The last two games, to give the guys credit in the squad, the subs have come on and lifted the level, lifted the tempo and again today they've made a real impact," Director of Youth Development James Clarkson said after the match. "Roberto [Marquez] and Kevin Rodriguez on the left-hand side have changed the game for us. The goals we've scored have been terrific, so really pleased for them."
The U-16s couldn't produce a similar result, as the FCD's Devin Vega recorded a first half hat trick en route to a 3-1 win. Alejandro Saez scored his first goal of the year in the second half, but it wasn't enough to keep the squad from dropping to 1-3-0 (3 points) on the season.
A flurry of late goals helped the Dynamo U-14s to a 4-0 victory against Dallas on Saturday. Domingo Mba Ayecaba opened the scoring 38 minutes in, but the margin stayed that way until nearly 10 minutes from time. Julio Arzate doubled the Dynamo's lead in the 68th minute, then Mba Ayecaba added his second goal two minutes later to make it 3-0. Zachary Gonzales put the cherry on top in the 77th minute for the team's second four-goal performance of the season.
In the Sunday action, the U-15 squad fell to 1-0-2 after a 4-0 loss to FC Dallas, while the U-13s drew 1-1.
