It seemed virtually impossible at the beginning of Sunday.
But when the sun had set on Toyota Park in Frisco, Texas, the Sporting Kansas City U-18s were celebrating a miraculous victory that had sealed a spot in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy quarterfinals.
Overwhelming odds were stacked against Jon Parry’s side entering their final group stage game in the USSDA Playoffs. The U-18s had suffered a 3-0 defeat to top-ranked Blau Weiss Gottschee two days earlier and their hopes of winning Group H hung by a thread.
In order to advance, the U-18s needed a win against the San Jose Earthquakes, a BW Gottschee loss to the Capital Area RailHawks, and to make up a five-goal difference in the process.