FRISCO, Texas -- The FC Dallas U-16 and U-18 Academy teams have been busy since their return from Spain this past Wednesday. In addition to four of the U-18 Academy players being called into the first team reserve game against the US U-20s on Thursday evening, Friday marked the kickoff of the MLS U-17 Cup quadrangular here in Frisco for the squad.

MLS Academies have had several unique opportunities to compete against each other in preparation for the U-17 final that will take place this July. The team traveled to Las Vegas in February before hosting the second regional event this past weekend in Frisco.

“This is organic soccer,” said FC Dallas Youth President Dan Hunt. “Opportunities to test ourselves against other MLS opponents are critical to gauge our overall development. It also allows our players opportunities to have unique competition during a time of year when they are not engaged in regular league play with the Development Academy.”

Although this year these regional games are only friendlies and are not official qualifying matches, the regional events will act as qualifiers for the final and will seed the divisions to determine standings beginning next season.

“The boys played well, overall,” said U-16 Academy coach Chris Hayden.  “The way they have come together as a team is evident and their overall style of play is something we are very proud of on the field.  We recognize that they are coming off playing four games in eight days in Madrid.  To get back and have one day of rest before playing three games back to back to back is very difficult. We worked to manage the roster to help alleviate some of those pressures but it is a lot to ask of the boys regardless.”

The young FCD side went 1-2 overall on the weekend.  They defeated rival Houston Dynamo on Friday 2-0 before falling to Mexican side Santos 1-2 on Saturday, and then losing their final match 1-0 against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday.

“Overall, it’s not as important to get wins in these situations as it is to get quality matches that allow us to measure ourselves against quality opponents,” said Hayden. “We played a young team against some talented opponents and we are very pleased with the opportunity to have chances like these.”

The Academy is training this week in the evenings only, as morning training has been cancelled until April 4 to allow the boys time to recuperate and get caught up on their school work. Spring league play resumes this weekend as both the U-16 and U-18 sides face Lonestar SC on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park on Field 4 at 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The teams will then be solely focused on preparation for Dallas Cup, which kicks off April 17 when the U-18 side will face FC Barcelona in the Supergroup at 3:30 p.m. on the Pizza Hut Park stadium field.  The U-16s will be participating in the U-17 bracket of the Dallas Cup with the schedules and bracketing yet to be announced.