The Houston Dynamo Academy U-18 and U-16 teams qualified for the 2014-15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs and learned their opponents for the group phase of the tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
The Dynamo U-18s won the first Central Conference championship in program history with 19-5-3 record (60 points). The team led the league in both goals scored (76) and goals conceded (33) and held their position at the top of the table since October. Midfielder Christian Lucatero finished top 10 nationally in the USSDA in both goals and goals per game, scoring 23 times in 24 contests.
The U-18s will face Vardar (Michigan), Crossfire Premier (Washington), and Orlando City SC in Group H for the first round of playoff action.
The Dynamo U-16s are also making their third straight playoff appearance. The U-16s finished third in the Central Conference Frontier Division with a 14-7-6 record (48 points). After a tough start to the season, the team recovered to go 10-2-2 in their final 14 matches to secure a playoff spot.
The U-16s were drawn into Group H with the Philadelphia Union, Weston FC (Florida), and Everton FC Westchester (New York).
The group phase runs from June 23-26 at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana. The winners from all eight groups per age group then advance to the Academy Championships, with higher seeded teams hosting lower seeds in a knockout match on July 7 (for U-18) and July 8 (U-16). The four winners from each age group then travel to the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California for the final knockout and placement matches on July 16 and 18.
