PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers U-18 Academy team qualified for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs for the first-ever time last weekend and on Tuesday was drawn into Group D alongside U-18 Academy teams representing the Chicago Fire, FC Dallas and Charlotte Soccer Academy.
The U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs and Showcase takes place June 23-27 at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.
The Timbers U-18s (13-9-5, 44pts) finished the regular season on an eight-game unbeaten streak and secured one of the final wildcard berths last weekend, becoming the first Timbers Academy club to qualify for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs at any age level. Anthony Macchione (Camas, Wash.) registered a team-high 16 goals during the regular season for the Timbers U-18s while Sam Werner (Beaverton, Ore.) added seven goals and Peter Prescott (Vancouver, Wash.) and Alex Segovia (Hillsboro, Ore.) both chipped in six goals.
Portland was one of four teams from the Northwest Division to qualify for the postseason.
The 32-team U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs field was determined through 19 automatic qualification spots and 13 wildcard berths. The automatic qualifiers included the top two teams from the Southwest and Northwest divisions and the top three teams from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Atlantic, Frontier and Mid-America divisions. Teams were ranked by points per game from the 2013-14 season. From there, the 32 playoff teams were seeded and placed into four pots of eight teams. The eight seeds in each pot were then placed into Groups A through H. Teams were drawn into groups according to seeds and division, and teams could be placed back into their respective pot if drawn with a divisional opponent, resulting in a new selection.
In addition to the Timbers U-18s postseason berth, the Timbers U-16 Academy team was invited to participate in the Development Academy Showcase, which runs concurrent to the Development Academy Playoffs at Grand Park.
