Before Ryan grad Mark Ashby packed up and headed to Harvard to play soccer, he helped the FC Dallas U17/18 team become U.S. Soccer Development Academy Champions.
The squad defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 on Sunday to become the first MLS-affiliated team to win the academy’s championship.
Ashby, a defender, headed in the game-winning goal against Solar Chelsea FC in the semifinals, pushing Dallas through to the finals. Against Vancouver, Dallas erased a one-goal deficit in the second half for the comeback victory.
Ashby’s play and his stellar academics have been chronicled here, and he’s made it on Dale Hansen’s sports show earlier this year. After an extensive club soccer career, Ashby has a championship to take with him to New England in the fall.