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Boys’ soccer: Demise of high school soccer will be televised by ESPN

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Good soccer is expected to be played at the Home Depot Center later this month, and, no, I’m not talking about MLS’ Super Clasico between Galaxy and Chivas USA on the 10th. The What? My point exactly.

The inaugural season of the U.S. Soccer Federation‘s Developmental Academy, a season that created a lot of controversy here in the Southland, will come to an end July 19 with a weeklong finals tournament that will be held at the Home Depot Center and broadcast live on ESPNU and ESPN2 (Full schedule after the jump).

In case you are not familiar with what we are talking about, in one paragraph, or less, the academy is a ‘super league’ of club teams from across the nation that kicked off in October with 64 teams and eight conferences. Games were played in two age groups, Under-15/16 and Under-17/18.

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The finals, a six-day tournament made up of the eight conference champions, start on July 12 and end on July 19. The teams are split into two groups of four that will play a round-robin format. Teams from Group A will meet those from Group B on the pitch in placement matches on the 18th and 19th.

The main event is the U-17/18 championship game on Friday, July 18 at 8:30 p.m. that will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Representing Southern California in both age groups is LAFC.

A national tournament? And on TV? Sounds terrific, right? Not everybody is jumping for joy and here’s why.

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Some of the best players in the Southland decided not to participate in high school sports last season in order to play in the academy. Clubs aggressively recruited the top players and lured away them with promises of bigger exposure to college coaches and national team scouts. It created a lot of controversy.

One coach told Times columnist Eric Sondheimer, ‘[the academy] took away high school soccer,’ and then followed that statement by saying, ‘we’re losing the battle right now.’

Things are likely to get worse before they get better as academy officials have already announced plans to add more teams for next season, including at least one more in from Los Angeles.

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-- Jaime Cardenas

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FINALS WEEK GROUPS/SCHEDULE

GROUPS
Group A (U-17/18)
A1: Mid-America Champion
A2: Baltimore Bays (Mid-Atlantic Champion)
A3: Colorado Rush (West Champion)
A4: Westchester FC (Northeast Champion)

Group B (U-17/18)
B1: CASL (Atlantic Champion)
B2: Crew (Great Lakes Champion)
B3: Concorde Fire (Southeast Champion)
B4: LAFC (So Cal Champion)

Group C (U-15/16)
C1: Albertson (Northeast Champion)
C2: LAFC (So Cal Champion)
C3: Carmel United (Great Lakes Champion)
C4: Schulz Academy (Southeast Champion)

Group D (U-15/16)
D1: Chicago Magic (Mid-America Champion)
D2: CASL (Atlantic Champion)
D3: Real Colorado (West Champion)
D4: PDA (Mid-Atlantic Champion)

SCHEDULE
Saturday, July 12

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Match Time
A1 vs. Baltimore Bays 11 a.m.
Colorado Rush vs. FC Westchester 1 p.m.
CASL vs. Crew 4 p.m.
Concorde Fire vs. LAFC 6 p.m.

Sunday, July 13
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Match Time
Albertson vs. LAFC 11 a.m.
Carmel United vs. Schulz Academy 1 p.m.
Chicago Magic vs. CASL 4 p.m.
Real Colorado vs. PDA 6 p.m.

Monday, July 14
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Match Time
A1 vs. Colorado Rush 11 a.m.
Baltimore Bays vs. FC Westchester 1 p.m.
CASL vs. Concorde Fire 4 p.m.
Crew vs. LAFC 6 p.m.

Tuesday, July 15
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Match Time
Albertson vs. Carmel United 11 a.m.
LAFC vs. Schulz Academy 1 p.m.
Chicago Magic vs. Real Colorado 4 p.m.
CASL vs. PDA 6 p.m.

Wednesday, July 16
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Match Time
A1 vs. FC Westchester 1 p.m.
Baltimore Bays vs. Colorado Rush 1 p.m.
CASL vs. LAFC 4 p.m.
Crew vs. Concorde Fire 4 p.m.

Thursday, July 17
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Match Time
Albertson vs. Schulz Academy 1 p.m.
LAFC vs. Carmel United 1 p.m.
Chicago Magic vs. PDA 4 p.m.
CASL vs. Real Colorado 4 p.m.

U-17/18 Age Group
Placement Matches
Friday, July 18
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Match Time TV
7th Place 12:30 p.m. ESPNU
5th Place 3 p.m. ESPNU
3rd Place 5:30 p.m. ESPNU
Championship 8 p.m. ESPN2

U-15/U-16 Age Group
Placement Matches
Saturday, July 19 <>

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Match Time TV
7th Place 12:30 p.m. ESPNU
5th Place 3 p.m. ESPNU
3rd Place 5:30 p.m. ESPNU
Championship 8 p.m. ESPNU
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