The Generation Adidas Cup is here! And the 2019 edition has expanded compared to previous years, with a Under-15 MLS-vs-LigaMX round-robin added to the U17 portion of the cup.
Philadelphia Union’s academy remains one of the top talent producers in the country, and both the U17 and U15 squads are traveling to Dallas over the next week after finishing at or near the top of their qualification groups.
The Union U17s are in the Premier Division of the GA Cup finals. Group D — also featuring the Colorado Rapids, New England Revolution, Toluca, and Mount Pleasant — faces off with Group C teams, which include Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey, and Columbus Crew. The winner of each group makes the semi-finals. Each of the past two seasons, a MLS squad has taken the Premier Division crown and the Union are hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s excellent Seattle Sounders squad.
Players such as Selmir Miscic and Patrick Bohui have featured for the U17s in this year’s GA Cup. Miscic, of course, has now signed for Bethlehem Steel FC and Bohui recently became the youngest player ever to appear for Steel FC in a USL Championship match. There is depth in midfield and defense too, though — Danny Flores and Dante Huckaby are standouts in the center and Lukas Burns has shown quality between the pipes. Recently, winger Jack de Vries has emerged as a regular call-up to the U-17 US National Team after a string of strong performances with the Union.
The Union U17s will play live on Twitch on Sunday, April 14 at 1:30 p.m. ET against Monterrey. Tune in to PhiladelphiaUnion.com to get that stream when it goes live.
The U17s open their slate against SKC on April 13. See their full slate of matches below.
The Union U15s open play on April 17 against Monterrey. Despite tearing through their competition this season, the U15s will not be featured on Twitch unless they reach the final. After Monterrey, Chris Brewer’s squad gets Guadalajara and Cruz Azul in a morning/evening doubleheader on April 18th and finishes the round-robin portion of the schedule against Leon on April 19.
The U15s feature standout players such as Brandan Craig, Million Evans, and Quinn Sullivan. The latter has been scoring at will of late from his central midfield position, but Brewer will be looking for his team to remain compact and break quickly to create their chances in this cup tournament. In back, Ryan Lau continues to emerge as a strong defender that can get forward, and the team will look to use him as an outlet in wide spaces in transition moments.
Union U17s
April 13
vs Sporting Kansas City (1:30 pm)
April 14
vs Monterrey (1:30 pm) - See PhiladelphiaUnion.com for streaming details
vs Fjolnir (6:45 pm)
April 16
vs Vancouver Whitecaps (11:45am)
April 17
vs Columbus Crew (1:30pm)
Union U15s
April 17
vs Monterrey (10:00am)
April 18
vs Guadalajara (10:00am)
vs Cruz Azul (8:00pm)
April 19
vs Club Leon (3:30pm)
