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FC Dallas '97 defeated Floridas FC America 2-1 on Saturday to win the U14 Disney Cup International tournament championship in Orlando, Fla.

Christian Ramirez scored both goals for FC Dallas, which finished a perfect 5-0 in the tournament.

Since winning the U14 division of the Copa ESPN last month, FC Dallas '97 is 10-0.

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas Premier was the last entry in the U15 division of the Dallas Cup. Its participation wasn’t secured until just a day and a half before the start of the event.

It turned out to be a fateful invitation. In an all-Dallas final, FC Dallas defeated Solar SC, 2-0, for the U15 title Saturday afternoon at Pizza Hut Stadium.

Midfielder Antonio Aguilar scored both goals, the first in the 27th minute with a dipping 18-yard shot from the right that was tucked just under the crossbar.

In the early stages of the second half, Aguilar made it 2-0 on a header with service coming from Nico Lozada-Smith.

San Jose side proves point

MTH PAC Tigres relished the role of underdog throughout the 32nd Dr Pepper Dallas Cup.

Based in San Jose, Calif., the Tigres aren’t an academy squad and lack the budget of many of the other entries in the U16 division. Yet the Tigres were the only U.S. U16 team to advance to the semifinals.

“I don’t think a lot of people expected us to do this,’’ said the Tigres’ Josue Mendoza, “or wanted us to do it.’’

The run reached its end in a 3-2 semifinal loss to Estudiantes Tecos of Guadalajara, Mexico, on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park.

Though initially saddened to finish two goals shy of the championship game, the Tigres were proud of their tournament performance.

“I think we showed that if you work hard and want it, anything is possible,’’ said Mendoza, a sophomore at Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) “It proves you don’t have to be an academy team to do well in a big tournament like this.’’

CD Guadalajara Chivas of made it an all-Guadalajara, Mexico, U16 final Sunday by routing PTSC Timber Wolves of Winnipeg, Canada in the other Saturday semifinal.

Santa Clara Sporting in third straight final

The distance from the complex of soccer fields at Pizza Hut Park to the 21,000-seat main stadium is only a few hundred yards.

When the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup began a week ago, all 180 teams shared the goal of reaching the big house for the divisional championship game.

One side that knows what it takes to get to there is Santa Clara Sporting.

The Californians earned a berth in Sunday’s U17 final with a 1-0 defeat of Brazils FC of Aguas d Lindoai, Brazil.

“It has been an incredible experience every time we’ve made it to the finals,’’ said Sporting veteran Carlos Gavino. “There is satisfaction in knowing all the hard work we’ve put in and the support we’ve gotten from our people.’’

Gavino’s corner kick led to the only goal of the match, a header by Tito Tenorio to the right corner from a distance of 12 yards with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

FC Dallas' most elite U-18 Academy team advanced in the Gordon Jago SuperGroup of the Dallas Cup with a 2-1 over Japan's U-18 National Team. With the win FCD sweeps Group B and advances to the Semifinals where they will face Tigres on Firday night at Pizza Hut Park. FCD home grown signings Jonathan Top and Bryan Leyva scored for FCD against Japan. Arsenal and Eintracht Frankfurt make up the other semifinal.

Scoring Summary:
DAL – Top 7’
JPN – 33’
DAL – Leyva 62’

FC Dallas – Cortes, Ambrose, Okwuonu, Hernandez, Ramirez, Ulloa, Robledo (Guzman 71’), Garcia (Rochowski 90’), Leyva, Perez (Pinal 53’), Top.

Here are the final Group B Standings...

Bracket B	Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
FC Dallas USSF U17/18 Academy (N-TX)	9	3	3	0	0	8	2
Futbol Club Barcelona (Spain)	6	3	2	1	0	7	6
Japan U18 National Team (Japan)	3	3	1	2	0	5	5
Club Sport Cartagines (Costa Rica)	0	3	0	3	0	3	10

You can find some excellent pics of the FCD Academy side against Barcelona earlier in the tournament here.

In other FCD Academy news at the Dallas Cup... the U-16s lost their 3rd game to West Side Metro Premier of Oregon 1-0 and were eliminated.

The FCD 94 Boys Premier team was eliminated by other results when Brasilis FC drew 0-0 with TSF Academy Galacticos. The 94s lost to FC Golden State Premier 2-1. The 95s, who were eliminated after Monday's loss, fell again today to FCB Escola Monterrey 5-1.

Two FCD Youth teams did advance however. The 96s drew 2-2 with Pateadores of California to win their bracket and advance to the U-15 quarterfinals Thursday afternoon. The 97s will play in the U-14 quarterfinals Thursday afternoon as well, after defeating TSF Academy Blue of New Jersey today 3-1 to sweep their bracket.

FRISCO, Texas -- The 32nd edition of the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup is off to a flying start, and not just because of 25 mph winds sweeping across Pizza Hut Soccer Complex on Sunday.

The real blow for area soccer on opening day of the eight-day, 180-team international tournament was struck by FC Dallas USSF U17/18 Academy, which shocked FC Barcelona, 3-1, in the event’s top division, the Gordon Jago Super Group.

“Everybody knows Barcelona,’’ said FC Dallas’ Daniel Garcia. “Nobody knows anything about us.’’

Garcia’s goal, 10 minutes into the second half, built on a 2-0 halftime advantage.

FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja used the underdog role as a motivator before the match.

“I told them our name is not as big as Barcelona, but it still must be settled on the field,’’ Pareja said.

FC Dallas employed a counterattacking strategy, conceding the fact that Barcelona would control the ball.

“When we got the ball, we hurt them,’’ said Pareja.

Said Garcia: “It is a great feeling to win and get a goal. American soccer is building and we are proof that our teams can play with the best all over the world.’’

Jonathan Top and Jose Perez scored in the opening half.

Barcelona averted a shutout on a penalty in the closing moments.

Arsenal FC 5, Dallas Texans USSF U17/18 Academy 1: In the final match of day one, it appeared the Texans might build on FC Dallas’ upset when Eduardo Aranda delivered a goal in the 12th minute of the match against the visitors from London, England.

From that point, the Gunners lived up to their nickname, helped by the Texans playing a man down after 47th minute red card.

The tournament staged its opening ceremony between the two Super Group matches.

Monday’s matches begin at 10 a.m. at both sites, Pizza Hut Complex and Richland College. The final matches of the day are scheduled for 6 p.m.

FC Dallas over the weekend became the first MLS team to win a youth national title when they clinched the Under-15 Red Championship. FC Dallas beat Scottsdale Blackhawks, 2-0, goals by Paulo Sanchez and Nicolas Lozada-Smith, to pass Olney Rangers on the final day of the season and take home the title.

FCD Premiere will now play in 2011 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships July 27-31 at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix.

FC Dallas Premiere is the top level club in the FC Dallas Youth setup just below the FC Dallas Academy teams.

The Frisco ISD last night voted to change their district policy to allow out of town students to attend school in Frisco. This policy has been adapted to allow players in the FC Dallas Academy to attend school in Frisco. This is the next step on the road to FCD having a full time residency academy.

According to various reports, this policy change is only for students in programs like the FCD academy and has to be approved on a case by case basis. Frsico ISD officials emphasized this changes wasn't made just for the FCD program alone.

Some players are already taking advantage of the policy to move to Frisco and live with teammates instead of facing long commutes. There's a video here of one player making a 3 and a half hour drive each way every day from north of Oklahoma City.

FCD deserves some credit on this one I think for making education a priority in their program. Only one or two players a year at most will go pro from this program. The vast majority of the players the FCD academy produces will need to be college eligible for both their soccer future and off the field future.

Brek Shea hasn't been able to get his spot back in the first eleven.

Dax McCarty will be on the JMS Podcast today (Wednesday).

Steve Hunt with Five Questions for FC Dallas Heading into the Playoffs. Nice work there Steve.

Steve Davis is now on board the Davie Ferreira for MVP bandwagon. Seats are going fast.

Jeff Carlisle talks MVP candidates and has Ferreira in there. He also has some quotes from Hyndman on Hartman.

"[Hartman] is day-to-day," said FCD manager Schellas Hyndman. "He looks to be about 80-85 percent. We're very encouraged, and we're hoping he'll play this weekend, but if not this weekend, then he'll play the next weekend."

The FCD notebook has some great stuff in it. Pearce will miss the LA game due to Yellow Cards, Loyd or Jackson could fill in. Both Daniel Hernandez and Ugo Ihemlu came out of the RSL with tight hamstrings, ok that's not good. And lastly, Hyndman is interested in Juan Pablo Ángel.

“Why would you not have interest in one of the best scorers in the league? Every time he’s played us, he’s found a way to beat us, so why not join us? He would be I think an outstanding addition for us.” - Hyndman

Hartman could be back against LA Galaxy. No offense to Dario Sala, who is a good keeper and going into this year was the clear #1 here. For some reason with this team in this season it's clear Hartman should be in there. 0.62 GAA vs 1.47 GAA tell you all you need to know right now. I thought FCD made a big mistake picking up Hartman, boy was I wrong.

Goal.com on Colombians in MLS, including David Ferreira and Jair Benitez.

Dario Sala held a soccer clinic on Tuesday in Frankling Township. Where is that you ask? Why, it's outside Indianapolis. Yes, in Indiana.

Steve Davis talks potential FCD playoff opponents.

Speaking of playoffs, Brian Straus says the playoff system rewards the lower seeds.

Ridge Mahoney said almost the exact same thing.

Jeremiah Oshan lists FCD 4th in his contenders rankings, and cites them missing Kevin Hartman as the reason why FCD is not going anywhere. I think Jeremiah needs to read the Harmtan article higher up on this page.

The Haitian Amputee Soccer Team lost their first game down in Argentina, but check out the pic in the linked article of them in uniform. First, fantastic of FCD to outfit them in gear. Second, anyone recognize that exact uniform? Is that a FCD youth kit of some kind, or is that next year's FCD jersey? Interesting.

After watching the game tape, Hyndman says the RSL game wasn't as bad as he first thought.

“I think guys were getting out of structure. If you look at the tactics for Real Salt Lake, everything was going to their left. Our right fullback was getting stuck up and wasn’t recovering quickly enough. Their goals came from balls that were coming from out to in. I think the communication [between the goalkeeper and the defenders] and the positioning [were to blame].” - Hyndman

FCD's official Monday training report.

Ruben Luna popping up in the Mexican's Abroad section on goal.com.

MLS attendance figures, FCD finished 3rd from last ahead of only Kansas City (stadium limit) and San Jose.

A player I really, really like from the FCD youth program, Bradlee Baladez, has popped up at South Carolina (#13 in SA's rankings) with five goals already this season as a midfielder. Baladez caught my eye two years ago when he played against FCD's reserves. I've been trying to track him since. I think he's got the kind of game that will mature really well and he could become a great MLS level pro. In a non-Ruben Luna year he might have been FCD's local signing.

Kyle McCarty says FCD's injured players were off the pace against RSL.

FCD players are doing a fashion show at Saks with Modern Luxury. There is no such thing as bad publicity.

The Seattle Times has some game notes, the FCD vs LA match is at the bottom.

Power Rankings

MLS (FCD 3rd), Goal.com (FCD 2nd), The Examiner (FCD 3rd), SB Nation (FCD 3rd)

Non-FCD Stories of Interest

Former Cuban soccer player and defector Yeniel Bernudez is in Alaska looking for a team.

RSL is advancing in CONCACAF Champions League play, which is good for FCD as it may tire out their most likely playoff opponent.

FCD's opponent this weekend is going for the Supporters Shield. There's a nice break down of the Gals in that article.

FCD fans will enjoy this breakdown of the Houston Dynamo collapse.

Here's a fascinating Paul Gardner commentary on why the British papers picked the USA as their fake country in the votes bribery story. Paul sees the game in ways many people don't, he's almost always worth reading.

Steve Davis discuses the Jason Kreis syndrome, a.k.a. great MLS strikers who don't score for the US of A.

The Dallas Stars had to get an $8 million bailout from MLS. Is the 4th major sport slot up for grabs in Dallas?

After the dust settles on the greatness of FC Dallas signing three more players from their youth system, now the question arises “what can these kids do for the first team?”

First and foremost, the biggest signing of the three was forward Ruben Luna. The forward, who was named the U16 player of the year a couple of years ago and made the select XI for the entire Academy system this season, has been scoring goals in the dozens for the Juniors program and has been training with the first team since before the season started. The leading scorer for the FC Dallas first team in pre-season, Luna joins FC Dallas as the third best forward on the roster ahead of guys like Peri and Wiedeman. After seeing the pre-season he had, I’m convinced that Luna can step in an hold his own in MLS tomorrow.

Luna is the kind of forward, like Carlos Ruiz, who does nothing for 85 minutes, but if you give him one chance he will put it away with that poacher’s instinct that can’t really be taught. He doesn’t have overwhelming speed, but Ruben is very smart with his runs and is good in the air at the youth level. The best part of Luna’s game, however, relies on his strength and ability to turn a defender in a flash. Like Ruiz, he will work on a defender for the entire game looking for that one opening and will fail 90% of the time, but when his moves work, they produce a goal.

Moises Hernandez is probably the second-most MLS ready player of the three signings. A strong and quick outside back who has had time with the US Under-20 team, Hernandez’ trademark for the Juniors was bombing runs forward down the wings and getting to attack whenever possible. Hernandez is a good 1v1 defender who is tough to beat off the dribble, but still has a lot to learn about tactics and soccer IQ. In many of the Juniors games I’ve seen, Hernandez will make a good run down the wing only to leave his defenders stranded when he isn’t able to get back to defend. The fact that Anthony Wallace was traded the same day that Hernandez was signed says something about how high FCD is on this kid even though he won’t be eligible to play until next season.

I say Moises is the closer of the other two signings to MLS because I think his issues can be mostly coached out and outside back is a position that is much easier to break into a team at rather than the defensive mid that Victor Ulloa is. Ulloa was the heart and soul of the FCD Juniors U18 for both years they played. The captain for as long as I can remember, Ulloa commands the FCD midfield from a defensive position. For those who have been watching FC Dallas for awhile, Victor will remind you of a young Leonel Alvarez, running around the field with his long hair and hard tackles. Ulloa is an extremely talented passer of the ball who is very good in tight spaces and rarely turns the ball over, especially in bad spots on the field. He won’t score a lot of goals, but Ulloa can hammer in a free kick and is a danger from long range. Ulloa needs to work on his tendency to get stupid yellow cards in games and needs to get a little stronger, but he has the potential to be another Alvarez. It’s going to be tough for him in the short run simply because defensive mid is such an important position on the field and it could take a few years for Schellas to trust him, but Ulloa has all the potential in the world and the Corazon to back it up.

It’s very interesting that in the same week that players like Ljungberg and Marquez are joining new MLS teams, Dallas makes its statement that rather than build their team with DP’s, they’re starting this thing from the ground up with their academy system. It may not have the flash of the big names, but come 2012 we could have a team in which half the players come from our city and the thought of that is pretty exciting. Now bring back the reserve league and get these kids some games against other professionals!

One final possibility for FCD's three player announcement on Friday is that all three players will be FCD Juniors signings. Ruben Luna we've been over before, and I'm more convinced than ever that Luna is one of the three. The additional Juniors scenario I'm suggesting is that FCD will name two more Juniors as home grown signings for the 2011 season.

If FCD is going the three Juniors signings route, those two additional home grown players could be Moises Hernandez and Victor Ulloa. Both players have been involved with the senior FCD side and both have been spotted in training more of late this summer. Some of our insider type connections are pointing to these two young men as the next most likely candidates to go pro out of the FCD Juniors program, and FCD may look to jump the gun on them for next season by signing them now.

We'll have more on both those players if it turns out they are indeed the additional two players, rather than more conventional signings mentioned in the previous post.

FC Dallas sent out an official announcement of Friday's media event, and it's now to announce three players. While it still is likely one of them is homegrown talent Ruben Luna, the other two players remain a mystery.

Our sources said Wednesday that the signing wasn't Jackson, the 22-year-old right back from Sao Paulo. Could that have changed? Could FCD be announcing next year's homegrown players? Or has the club landed some new players of a higher stature, perhaps even a post World Cup desiginated player?

FCD has set up a media event on Friday to introduce the signing of a new player. According to 3rd Degree sources, the player is not Jackson, the recent 22-year-old trialist FCD has been considering. FC Dallas has been tracking the Sao Paulo player for the last couple weeks with an eye to signing him, but it would require a trade or waiver of a player to create room for Jackson. Hyndman had previously indicated he wasn't ready to cut a player and was looking into possible trades.

It seems likley at this point that the player may be FCD Juniors talent Ruben Luna. Luna's name appeared on the Player Union salary list that was leaked about a month back. Luna, if he is indeed signed and activated, would occupy one of FCD's two homegrown spots and would not require a roster move to allow him to be on the roster and participate in games right away.

Luna has been with FC Dallas Juniors the last few weeks playing in the Developmental Academy Finals and the SUM Cup.

The FC Dallas Juniors fell at their last hurdle before making it to the championship game of the US Soccer Development Academy Finals Week losing a 3-2 heartbreaker to CASL Chelsea of Virginia. CASL opened the scoring with a first half goal from Glenn Scott giving them a 1-0 lead, but things would really heat up in the second half. Future FC Dallas forward Ruben Luna would tie the score in the 61st minute before CASL quickly regained their lead 5 minutes later.

With Crossfire leading their game on the opposite field, Dallas knew they would have to win to advance and pushed forward, tying the game in the 86th minute on a Jose Perez goal. FCD pushed everyone forward looking for that goal needed to push them into the championship game and ended up giving away a last second goal to University of South Carolina commit Charles Root giving CASL the three points and breaking FC Dallas hearts. FCD would slide to third in their group facing Baltimore Bays on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 1-0 result to officially finish 6th at Finals Week.

It was announced after Finals Week that forward Ruben Luna and outside defender Moises Hernandez were named to the U18 best XI players for the entire 77 team academy. Team captain Victo Ulloa was named to the Central Conference best XI and forward Jonathon Top was named to the best XI for the U17 Central Conference.

Next up for the FC Dallas Juniors is a trip to Houston for the SUM Cup, a tournament involving the U17 teams of every MLS team held in conjunction with the MLS All-Star game. The tournament runs from July 23 through July 29 and we will, of course, keep you updated on how FC Dallas Juniors stack up against the rest of the league.

One of the brightest prospects in the FC Dallas youth system is FCD Juniors striker Ruben Luna. The 2009 U15/16 Developmental Academy Player of the Year with 38 goals in 27 games, Luna has been playing in the FCD Juniors U18 team this season while simultaneously training a majority of days with FC Dallas' senior side. The heavy schedule for Luna, who previously had committed to play soccer at SMU, doesn't' seem to be a burden on the young man, perhaps because he graduated early from high school this last winter.

Luna is a young talent with serious dedication and work ethic. FC Dallas asked him to drop some weight and get fitter this spring, and the young man has done that though diet and training. One example I witnessed of his focus and determination came when subbing out of a scrimmage in FCD training. Rather than sitting and watching, Luna did crunches on the side line. Luna is a pure goal scorer in the Carlos Ruiz mold, and knows how to use his body to control defenders much bigger than he is.

"Ruben, we’re very high on here. Schellas [Hyndman] is very high on him," FC Dallas technical Director Barry Gorman told MLSsoccer.com. "Hopefully [we’ll see him] not only in an FC Dallas uniform but on the field as well. We’re very high on him and a lot of people are. I think you know we’ve got a natural goal scorer in Ruben and have got a diamond waiting to be polished."

FC Dallas has been working all spring to sign Luna as one of their two home grown prospects. Luna was even given squad number 24 in spring training. Bryan Leyva, a member of the Mexican U17 team, was the first home grown signing for FCD and has already seen the field in a MLS game. Home grown prospects don't count on the senior club roster and are granted an extra spot outside the 24 allocated by MLS. If Luna signs he will be able to play this season for FCD.

So what exactly is the hold up on the deal? Good question. No one at FC Dallas will go on the record about why the signing is taking so long.

A few weeks ago the MLS players union leaked, as they do every year, the list of salaries for MLS. Coming as a big shock to close followers of FC Dallas was the presence of Luna's name on the list at $45,000. 3rd Degree has asked for an explanation from FCD and the club has no official answer.

Here's what Luna's name on that list tells me, that FC Dallas has a deal in place, an agreement in principle if you will, with Luna. It tells me that some technicality is holding up the deal, most likely something outside MLS and FCD. Since Luna has never been a pro anywhere else, it's not some kind of transfer or international paperwork holding up the deal. That leaves only the citizenship/residency question. Many people familiar with the inner workings of soccer in North Texas have indicated for some time that residency was the issue, but no one with FC Dallas has ever confirmed that with 3rd Degree.

"[Signing Luna] is a top priority and we’re working very hard on that," said Gorman "I can say at this time that there is major light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not just a faint glow. It’s a bright light and we’re hoping that in the next few days or couple of weeks, we’re going to have a major announcement on that. We’re getting very, very close."

So some movement on this deal at last perhaps and FC Dallas will finally get their bright young talent into the fold. As to when FCD fans might see Luna on the field, the answer is sooner rather than later I think. Coach Hyndman has been itching to play 4-4-2 and get a second striker on the field. I for one place Luna ahead of Peri Marosevic and Andrew Wiedeman in progression, and given Cunningham's current form, Luna might see the line up sooner than anyone thinks.

The FC Dallas Juniors drew 1-1 with Derby County Wolves on Tuesday afternoon in Carson, CA setting up a Thursday evening showdown with CASL to decide the group winner. Dallas got a second half goal from Victor Ulloa to cancel out Nathan Hicklin’s opener to give FC Dallas a vital point and, coupled with Crossfire’s 1-0 victory over CASL, the group lead on 4 points. The point means FC Dallas sits one point ahead of the three other teams in their group going into the final game ensuring that a win will see them into the U18 championship game for the first time in team history.

On the other half of the draw, Vardar and Real So Cal sit on four points with Baltimore Bays Chelsea on three points and Concorde Fire with zero points heading into the last round of games. Dallas will go for that win at 9pm central time on Thursday night against CASL Chelsea from Virginia. The best way I’ve found to track the action live is to follow a twitter account run by the parents of FCD players at twitter.com/fcdjrhoops, though we will update you on 3rddegree as soon as we hear the final score on Thursday night.

Development Academy Finals Week got off to a great start for FC Dallas late Sunday night with the Juniors securing a vital 1-0 win over Crossfire Premier. With things tied up with 15 minutes to play, tricky forward Bradlee Baladez popped up to bag a 75^th minute goal and a vital three points for Dallas.

The win, coupled with CASL’s surprising 2-1 defeat of Derby County Wolves, leaves FCD and CASL tied at the top of the group with three points each. Dallas continues group play against Derby County Wolves at 5pm tomorrow afternoon.

For a full recap of the game visit www.ussoccer.com

FCD Line Up: 0-Eduardo Cortes; 4-Giovanni Gomez (27-Michael Ambrose, 90), 2-Daniel Premenko, 14-Jacob Gerondale, 3-Moises Hernandez; 7-Victor Ulloa (capt.), 23-Marlon Duran, 12-Damian Rosales (11-Steven Adams, 52), 20-Bradlee Baladez (8-Christopher Figueroa, 79), 10-Jose Perez (17-David Robledo, 71); 9-Ruben Luna

Subs not used: 1-Jaime Ibarra, 6-Jael Barrera, 16-Julian Torres, 18-Alex Frankenfeld, 19-Uriel Soto, 24-Samuel Coleman, 30-Zachary Downes