Is Now Barça Residency Academy USA
Last week was the graduation party for the seniors at Vista Grande High School. Before they received their diplomas at the graduation ceremony a dinner was held at Fransisco Grande and a “End of the Year” video was shown.
The video has pictures of all the players, hilarious stories, interviews with the coaches and a few goals we were able to film this year. Enjoy the video below.
Grande Sports Academy would like to congratulate the 24 seniors who celebrated graduation last night.
Andrew Brody, Ive Burnett, Luis Chavez, Cesar Cobos, AJ Esparza, Elijah Evans, Danny Gavin, Eric Gonzalez, Trevor Hyman, Brandon Johnston, Isaias “Junior” Juarez, Kostas Kotselas, Riggs Lennon, Benjamin Lopez, Brandon Marquez, Antonio “Tony” Murillo, Jose “Coco” Navarro, Amer Sasivarevic, Jonathan Stadler, Tigran Tiraturyan, Aidan Tucker, Haedan Turner, Jose “Bean” Vasquez, Jon Zabasajja.
Before the players went over to Vista Grande High School (13 players attend this school) for the ceremonies, a dinner was held at Francisco Grande Hotel for the players family and friends. Ron Burks & Michael Saunders spoke to the graduates before a “end of the year” video full of highlights, jokes and a special message from the coaches was shown.
The ceremony was held on the football field and was full-blown airfare with skydivers, kicking off the ceremonies, and fireworks ending the special night. Non-graduates from the academy attended the ceremonies and rushed to the field and essentially took over the graduation with numerous chants and celebrations. The video below is one of those celebrations. Pictures are below the video. Congratulations to all our seniors and good luck at the next level.
Click on one picture and a slider gallery will form
Real Salt Lake Academy U18 and U16 teams have already qualified for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs and now they are looking to improve their playoff positioning. Below are the game recaps, pictures and video from this weekend’s action.
RSL U18 vs Pateadores U18
Starting XI: Luis Barraza (’82), Ive Burnett, Santi Carrillo (’80), Corey Nemeth (’76), Jonathan Stadler, Andrew Brody, Jose Hernandez, Jon Zabasajja (’80), Trevor Hyman (’44), Coco Navarro (’70), Kostas Kotselas (’67)
Bench: Amer Sasivarevic (’44), Te Wihongi (’76), Luis Chavez (’80), Brandon Marquez (’80), Christian Herrera (’82), Aidan Tucker (’67), Jose Vasquez (’70)
Picture from the game here
Kostas Kotselas PK goal here
It took Real Salt Lake U18’s fifty-three minutes before the could find the back of the net and once they did the onslaught was on. Four second half goals helped RSL cruise to a 4-1 victory over Southwest Division foes Pateadores.
Amer Sasivarevic opened up the scoring when Kostas Kotselas headed a ball far post finding an unmarked Sasivarevic who headed it in. Four minutes later Pateadores were called for a hand ball in the box. Kostas Kotselas stepped up and converted the PK.
Coco Navarro, called up by RSL to play in a reserve league match on Monday, scored his 19th goal on the season in the 66th minute and Aidan Tucker, playing in his final academy game, scored his first goal of for the team in the 80th minute. Pateadores did score in the 73rd minute off of a counter but there was little doubt RSL U18’s dominated the game and the entire second half.
RSL played well in the first half but just couldn’t finish in the final third. Jose Hernandez, Trevor Hyman, Coco Navarro and Andrew Brody all had outstanding looks but shot’s were off target or blocked by the Pateadores GK.
One theme that did pick up near the end of the first half was the buildup of physicality between both teams. Four Pateadores players were shown a yellow card and one player was sent off in the 70th minute when he picked up his second yellow. As the Pateadores became way too concerned with the yellow’s, RSL kept their focus and moved on taking advantage of a Pateadores team that was unorganized.
The highlight of the game for the players was when Tucker, who was not named to the summer roster, scored the last goal in the game. Tucker has played in 6 academy games and was primarily used as an Elite team player where he scored double-digit goals this season.
With the victory, RSL U18’s are now 3 points behind LA Galaxy for first in the Southwest Division. They have also moved up to #9 in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs. They need to finish top 8 for secure the best playoff position.
RSL U16 vs Pateadores U16
Starting XI: Chase Bishov, Jason Eng, Justen Glad, Dillon Nino, Moises Rodriguez, Luis Lopez, Fito Ovalle, Bofo Saucedo, Damian German, Josh Doughty, Brooks LennonBench: Adam Ferguson, Alex Knox, Terrell Lowe, Miguel Martinez, Diego Silva, Elias Rieland, Miles Stray, Evan Waldrep
Picture gallery from the game here
Luis Lopez free kick goal here
Real Salt Lake U16’s exhibited a little bit of a monkey see, monkey do attitude when taking on Pateadores this past weekend. Not wanting to be outdone by the older team, the U16’s also scored four goals against Pateadores and then claimed the bragging rights for the weekend by holding the opposition scoreless.
RSL took the lead in the 16th minute when Josh Doughty, back from participating with the Canadian U16 team, showcased some fancy footwork inside the box, passing to an unmarked Bofo Saucedo who scored his 14th goal of the season. Pateadores tried to answer back quickly but a big save from Chase Bishov kept the game scoreless. A Pateadores player broke free and Bishov ran out and smothered the ball before the Pateadores player could take a shot.
Damian German doubled RSL’s lead in the 40th minute when he fired a shot near post from a Brooks Lennon pass that was started by Josh Doughty.
Brooks Lennon then reclaimed his team lead in goals, 15 on the season, when he cut in from the wing. He touch two touches on the 18 and sent a curling ball far post. Two minutes later in the 66th minute Luis Lopez stepped up and converted a free kick from 22 yards out. His first goal on the season.
Pateadores showed signs of life in the 73rd minute when a turnover in the midfield by RSL led to a counter. Outstanding defense by Dillon Nino and Jason Eng slowed down the counter which resulted in a weak shot outside the 18. Pateadores had another chance minutes later but back-to-back saves from ‘keeper Miguel Martinez kept the game scoreless preserving the 4 goal lead.
With the victory, RSL has now clinched second in the Southwest Division. U16’s also did not improve their playoff chances and will most likely be in the second pot for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs which means they will have to take on a top 8 team.
Real Salt Lake Academy U18 defeated Pateadores, 4-1, with all goals for both teams coming in the second half. Goals were scored by: Amer Sasivarevic, Kostas Kotselas, Coco Navarro, Aidan Tucker. We also recorded the goal Kostas Kotselas scored. Check the goal out here.
Game recap here.
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Heading into the weekend, RSL U18 & U16 Elite teams both had an opportunity to advance to the quarterfinals of the Arizona State Cup. Below are the recaps from each game.
RSL U18 Elite vs Fusion FC
Starting XI: Danny Gavin, Radu Marcu, Jaime Payamps, Aidan Tucker, Ishan Atit, AJ Esparza, Elijah Evans, Eric Gonzalez, Albert Molina, Kaleb Goodman, Brandon Johnston
Bench: Tyler Buckley
Click here for a picture gallery from the game
Going into this game RSL U18 Elite had to defeat Fusion FC by any margin and they would advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Sixteen minutes into the game this task became even harder when Fusion FC scored the opening goal. Nine minutes later Fusion scored their second goal when RSL’s defense was caught out of position. RSL continued to put up a fight even though they were down early. Brandon Johnston showed some incredible pace of the wings beating three defenders before his cross was cleared out. Danny Gavin was physical in the midfield forcing many turnovers and creating chances for RSL.
However, even with all the hard work Fusion FC were able to grab another goal before the half and then another in the 51st minute.
RSL did answer back two minutes later when Eric Gonzalez created some space for himself on the wing for a cross. Tyler Buckey headed the ball into the ground before it took a bounce off the pitch and into the net. RSL continued to fight and had a much better showing in the second half but failed to connect in the final third which ultimately doomed them.
The final whistle blew ending RSL U18 Elite’s season with a, 4-1 defeat. Above is the 2012-2013 Elite team. A few of our players will be graduating and going to college in the fall and we wish them the best of luck going forward! Click the picture twice to see it bigger.
RSL U16 Elite vs Sereno
Starting XI: Miles Stray, Miguel Martinez, Brandon Sands, Danny Moreno, Duncan Storey, Nate Deaton, Aaron Herrera, Trent Lowe, Terrell Lowe, Patricio Cevallos, Octavio Ocampo
Bench: Tevin Lowe, Jonathan Min, Josh Coan, Nick Reyes, Nick LaMonica, Renzo Perez, Javi Avelar
Click here for a picture gallery from the game
For the RSL U16 Elite team to advance to the quarterfinals a few things needed to happen. If RSL defeat Sereno and CCV Stars lose or draw they advance. If RSL defeat Sereno and CCV Stars win, RSL has to defeat Sereno by 3 goals. If RSL lose they are out regardless of the CCV Stars outcome.
In less than 36 seconds after the whistle blew to start the game RSL found themselves down a goal when a shot was deflected into a danger zone by GK Miguel Martinez. RSL’s defense didn’t clear and Sereno scored. One more minute after this Sereno scored again, greatly hurting RSL’s chances. In the CCV Stars game being played at the same time in a field next to the RSL game they were up 1-0 going into the half and RSL was down 2-0 at the half.
RSL’s U16 fought hard in the second half but just could not really get anything going. Aaron Herrera had the best chance in the 62nd minute but both of his shots were blocked. Time expired with RSL losing, 2-0, and eliminated from Arizona State Cup ending their season.
Below is the RSL U16 2012-2013 Elite team. 
Click on the picture twice to see it bigger.
RSL U18 Elite were eliminated in Arizona State Cup play when they were defeated, 4-1, by Fusion FC in the final group game. Lone goal was score by Tyler Buckley.
Full Game Recap Here