The Sounders Academy U15s advanced to the GA Cup finals behind another standout performance from Chris Batiz, beating LAFC 2-0 on Friday. They’ll now face Spain’s Valencia CF in the final on Saturday, a sort of rematch of the 2019 final that saw the Sounders U17s claim the title.
Batiz, who just turned 15, was only credited with one assist — setting up Leo Guadagnino early in the match — but also took the free kick that led directly to the second goal. Batiz hit a left-footed shot from about 25 yards out that hit off the underside of the crossbar and seemed to cross the goal line before Sasha Charles-Antoine headed in the rebound. The assistant referee ruled that the initial shot had not crossed the line, however.
The Sounders U16s did not fare quite as well, but did nearly pull off an impressive comeback. Brazil’s Red Bull Bragantino stormed out to a 3-0 halftime lead, only to see the Sounders claw their way back into the match. First it was Vitalii Kolomiets finishing off a nice sequence of play to make it 3-1 and then Landon Lucero put away a loose ball in the box to make it 3-2 with about 20 minutes remaining.
The Sounders got a couple of decent looks at an equalizer — and Red Bull missed a couple chances to finish them off — but ultimately came up short. They will face the LA Galaxy in the third-place game on Saturday. The Galaxy lost 3-0 to Denmark’s FC Copenhagen in the other semifinal.
