During the last week of March, six Oklahoma Energy Football Club teams were invited to prestigious youth tournaments to face clubs from all over the world.

Three boys’ teams received invites to play in the Dallas Cup – the oldest youth soccer tournament in the United States and widely regarded as the best in the world. Hosted by Energy FC’s MLS affiliate, FC Dallas, the competition regularly features teams from big clubs around the globe, and this year, the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Monterey, Tigres, EC Vitoria, Atlanta United, and Toronto FC all made the trip.

While the OEFC ’02 boys didn’t make it out of the group after falling to sides from Mexico and California, they did get a big 7-0 win against Brampton East SC from Canada.

The ’03 boys went 3-0 in group play, including a 3-1 win against Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals by a team from Monterrey, Mexico but not before pulling back two late goals to force extra time and then penalties.

The ’04 boys had an impressive showing in the Univision Deportes Super 14s Group. They won all three group matches against sides from Japan, Charlotte, and Mexico but were ousted in the semi-finals against Tigres, in a match that was aired live on Univision Deportes. The ’04s feature two boys that are part of the U-15 US National Team pool, Rokas Pukstas and Daniel Gutierrez-Jaime.

Elsewhere in Dallas, the ’06 boys had an amazing run at IberCup. After getting out of a group that included teams from Haiti, New England, and FC Dallas, they defeated another team from New England Football Club in the quarters, beat a Costa Rican team in the semis, and came up just short in the final against Arsenal FC. Yes, that Arsenal FC.

On the girls’ side of things, the ‘03s and ‘05s were invited to play in the Dallas International Girls Cup in partnership with IberCup. In a tournament that was marred by weather delays, poor pitch conditions, and some matches with 15 minute halves, neither side was able to get out of group play.

The ‘03s came up a bit short after drawing two and losing one match in their group. They did go on to finish the weekend with a win in a friendly match against Esbjerg FB of Denmark .

Despite not making it out of the group, the ‘05 girls drew with FC Dallas and were narrowly defeated by the eventual finalist San Jose Earthquakes.

It was another high profile week of youth soccer and another successful weekend for OEFC. Expect to hear more about the club in the coming months as the 2017/18 season comes to an end, and many will compete in the President’s Cup, State Cup, Regionals, and Nationals.