Buoyed by the support of the Club’s first-team staff, the Houston Dynamo Academy enjoyed a successful first day at the Houston Sports Park fields against visiting academy, San Antonio FC.
“It was great to get out on the field with all our Academy teams for our first matches of 2023,” said Academy High Performance Director, Tony Vigil. “Players and staff were all very excited to play and put on some great performances. It was great to see everyone on the fields working together to put on a fantastic opening weekend.”
Played in two concurrent match windows, four of the Dynamo Academy’s five flagship squads faced the visiting San Antonio FC in the opening weekend of MLS Next action at Houston Sports Park. Beyond the challenge of a quality Texas academy visiting, multiple players were placed in the age group above their standard side for the weekend, a challenge that Vigil says they took well.
“Whether it was Myles Gardner in the U-15’s or David Garcia in the U-17’s, our younger players were fearless playing up an age group,” said Vigil. “It was exciting to see ten players successfully take on this new challenge at every level, even at Houston Dynamo 2. Moments like these allow players to think differently and add important layers to their professional development.”
In addition to the support players received from friends and family alike, the Dynamo Academy had nearly a dozen attendees from the first and second team staffs, including General Manager Pat Onstad and Technical Director, Asher Mendelsohn.
“It was fantastic to see our club leadership supporting this weekend, especially in the midst of a busy preseason for the first and second teams,” said Vigil. “When you have Pat, Asher, Ben, Nick, Kenny and other staff from both sides take time out of their weekend to come to these matches, it shows clearly to our Academy players and staff how committed our club is to developing players here in Houston.”
Next up for the Academy, the U-13’s will next face HDY at home on January 29th before traveling to San Antonio for last weekend’s reverse fixture on February 4th. The Dynamo U-14’s will join the U-13’s for their match against HDY before heading on the road to face Solar on February 4th.
The U-15’s look to take their momentum into another big home match against Total Football Club, who will visit Houston on January 26th. Kickoff is slated for 6pm. The U-15’s will then travel to local rivals RGV FC, facing them at 11am on February 4th. The U-17’s will join the U-15’s for their road-trip to the Rio Grande Valley on February 4th. Kickoff will be announced later.
This weekend's match scores are as follows:
U17 v. SAFC – W, 3-0
U15 v. SAFC – L, 3-4
U14 v. SAFC – W, 4-2
U13 v. SAFC – W, 3-1
The Houston Dynamo Academy is a program that seeks to be a benchmark in professional player development by providing the necessary resources, experiences, and structure needed to reach the highest levels. The program's aim is to produce MLS and international standard players and young men of high character, who are capable of being successful both on and off the field. For more information, please click here.
