NYCFC U17 advance to knockout round in Generation adidas Cup

The New York City FC Academy U17 team advances to the knockout round of Generation adidas Cup tournament in Frisco, TX, after finishing second in Group E with six points after three games.

On Sunday, April 10, NYCFC U17 defeated Vancouver Whitecaps U17 by the score of 2-1 behind a brace from Francesco Di Ponzio. The following day, NYCFC U17 shut out New Jersey Red Bulls U17 by the score of 2-0 thanks to goals from Carlo Brown and Jeffrey Vanegas—it avenges their 2-3 loss to the Red Bulls in March.

Earlier today, NYCFC U17 were shut out 1-0 by Liga MX size Rayados U17, but both teams will advance.

Considered one of the better teams in the tournament, the NYCFC U17 squad is led by attacking midfielder Mateo Ponce-Ocampo, who was in preseason training with the NYCFC Senior Team. Other standouts include left-back Christian McFarlane, right-back Diego Rossi, and Albanian U17 international center-back Klevis Haxhari.

The NYCFC U15 team didn’t fare as well, and failed to advance to the knockout round. The team finished in third place in Group I with five points, but ended the tournament on a high note by defeating group winners CF Valencia by the score of 2-1 behind goals by Andrew Baiera and Din Klapija.

Generation adidas Cup is the most important youth tournament in North America, and has featured some of the most talented players in the region including Tayvon Gray, Giovanni Reyna, Weston McKennie, George Bello, Jesús Ferreira, Paul Arriola, Ricardo Pepi, Gianluca Busio, and Zack Steffen, among others.

NYCFC U17 roster

Kamran Acito

Gianluca Armellino

Mark Cajamarca Tenemea

Gabriel Chavez

Kelvin Da Costa

Francesco Di Ponzio

Dren Dobruna

Cooper Flax

Nathan Gaviser

Tyler Glassberg

Alexander Hauschild

Klevis Haxhari

Christian McFarlane

Tyler Morck

Khaled Daoud

Max Pfaffman

Kaden Pollard

Mateo Ponce-Ocampo

Diego Rossi

Oliver Stafford

Yahir Tafoya

Kaief Tomlinson

Jeffrey Vanegas

Alexander Yagudayev

Mikhail Zaretser

UPDATED APRIL 9: NYCFC U17 will next face Charlotte FC U17 on Wednesday, April 13, at 5 pm ET.