The San Jose Earthquakes Youth Academy had a busy weekend in its first action of 2011 with the U-18s splitting a pair of matches and the U-16s winning twice.
Both squads returned from the winter break by travelling to take on the developmental squads from Arsenal FC and Real Salt Lake AZ.
The U-18 side opened up the weekend with a 4-0 win against Arsenal FC on Saturday, March 5 at UC Riverside. Irving Ventura started the scoring in the 30th minute and would tally again in the 65th minute. Carlos Gonzalez gave San Jose a 2-0 lead in the 50th minute.
Elisama Padilla came on as a substitute late in the second half and scored in the 79th minute in his debut for the U-18s, capping a thrilling 4-0 victory. Alfred Edmonds, Nick Lima and Israel Ayala had assists on the day and Jesus Guzman recorded the clean sheet.
In their game on Sunday, after making the trip to Casa Grande to face Real Salt Lake AZ, the U-18s fell 2-0. The home team jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 3rd minute goal from striker Ricardo Velasco. The forward later grabbed his second on the day midway through the second half for the final score line.
The U-16 squad began their phenomenal weekend on Saturday by squeaking by Arsenal FC 1-0. After a goalless first half, Jose Navarro tallied the match winner just two minutes after the re-start. The assist was provided on a nice pass from 14-year-old Claudio Celis, a recent addition to the team. Goalkeepers Nedin Tucakovic and Sergio de la Mora combined on the shutout.
The U-16s completed their weekend sweep on Sunday with a comeback win over Real Salt Lake AZ, 2-1. After falling behind 1-0 in the 25th minute through a Dylan Kelly strike, the Earthquakes came out fired up in the second half and were able to turn the score around.
Denis Alvarado grabbed the equalizer in the 59th minute and TJ Sylvia, who had come on as a sub to start the second half, notched what turned out to be the match-winner in the 76th minute. Sergio “Checo” de la Mora preserved the victory with a last-minute save on a penalty kick.
Both sides will return to the pitch next weekend with fixtures against the Irvine Strikers and Pateadores. The U-18s will kick things off on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Irvine, while the U-16s will follow suit at 3:30 p.m. They will then repeat the schedule on Sunday against Pateadores. All four matches will be held at Diablo Vista Park in Danville, Calif.
