Development Academy: Baltimore Bays Chelsea U-18s earn fifth place with win over Colorado Rapids
Baltimore Bays Chelsea made up for a rocky start to the 2012 Development Academy Finals Week with a 4-1 win against the Colorado Rapids in the U-17/18 fifth-place match on Sunday at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.
After losing their first two games at the tournament, Baltimore buckled down and won the last two, including Sunday’s fifth-place match, by a combined score of 6-1 against Chivas USA and the Rapids. This is the third year in a row that Baltimore Bays Chelsea has finished in fifth place in the U-17/18 age group.
“It’s a talented group, but we haven’t got to the pinnacle that we should have,” Baltimore Bays Chelsea head coach Steve Nichols said. “But it shows you that they care, they do things the right way. We don’t come into a game like this and lay down. We come and play soccer. That’s what we stand for.”
Baltimore Bays Chelsea maintained the lion’s share of possession much of the first half, earning three corner kicks in the opening six minutes. The pressure, which yielded seven shots in the opening stanza, paid off in the 19th minute as a determined run and shot from forward Yaw Amankwa led to a fortuitous deflection.
Amankwa used his strength to muscle around two defenders on the right side of the penalty box before unleashing a vicious strike that deflected into the goal off the leg of Rapids defender Ben Braman to give Bays a 1-0 lead.
Amankwa, one of Baltimore’s top goal scorers during the season and postseason with 12 goals in 28 appearances, doubled the Bays lead in the 35th minute, finishing a low cross from Ryan Kennedy in front of goal. Kennedy carried the ball into the right side of the area and crossed low in a dangerous area for Amankwa to hammer home the goal for a 2-0 lead.
The Rapids, playing without key midfielder Dillon Serna due to U-20 National Team commitments, cut the Baltimore lead in half on a missed clearance by a Bays defender four minutes before halftime. Daniel Nevarez played a through ball into the middle for Idi Camara, and a Bays defender missed the clearance allowing Camara to trot in on goal unimpeded. The lanky striker easily placed the ball past goalkeeper Nick Voyton to trim Baltimore’s lead to 2-1.
Baltimore continued to control the game, dictating the pace and managing its lead well when forward Michael Gamble put the result beyond a doubt in the 67th minute with a powerful, left-footed strike that left Rapids goalkeeper Andrew Epstein no chance to stop it. Second-half substitute Richard Greensfelder picked up the assist on a well-placed pass to the edge of the penalty box.
For good measure, Baltimore added a fourth in the 81st minute when Christian Porras was released on the left side of the box on a through pass from Gamble. Porras took a touch and deftly slotted the ball into the far right corner of the goal for a commanding 4-1 lead.
-U.S. Soccer Development Academy Match Report-
Match: Baltimore Bays Chelsea vs. Colorado Rapids
Date: July 22, 2012
Competition: Development Academy Finals Week – U-17/18 – Fifth-place Game
Venue: Houston Amateur Sports Park
Kickoff: 10 a.m. CT
Attendance: 75
Weather: 85 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
BBC 2 2 4
RAP 1 0 1
BBC – Own Goal 19th minute
BBC – Yaw Amankwa (Ryan Kennedy) 35
RAP – Idi Camara (Daniel Nevarez) 41
BBC – Michael Gamble (Richard Greensfelder) 67
BBC – Christian Porras (Michael Gamble) 81
Lineups:
BBC: 24-Nick Voyton (1-Andrew Harris, 45); 5-Alex Ponvert (Matt Shinsky, 85), 27-Tanner Vosvick, 6-Michael DeGraffenreidt, 20-Sam Tana; 12-Jeremy DeGraffenreidt (3-Logan McHugh, 53), 4-Jacori Hayes,11-Christian Morales (21-Malcolm Harris, 53),17-Ryan Kennedy (Richard Greensfelder, 53), 10-Romilio Hernandez (19-Christian Porras, 77), 2-Yaw Amankwa
Substitutions Not Used: None
Head coach: Steve Nichols
RAP: 31-Andrew Epstein; 4-Ben Braman (24-Austin Seifert, 45), 3-Alex Braman, 13-Jason Prichard (7-Chris Gurule, 58), 8-Karsten Hanlin; 20-David Pardo, 25-Cameron Taylor (2-Avery Ball, 73), 19-Daniel Nevarez (42-Isaac Martinez, 45), 46-Ricardo Perez; 10-Josue Chavez (14-Jorge Lopez, 45), 9-Idi Camara
Substitutions Not Used: 18-Brad Holub
Head coach: Brian Crookham
Stats Summary: BBC / RAP
Shots: 14 / 4
Shots on Goal: 9 / 1
Saves: 0 / 5
Corner Kicks: 9 / 4
Fouls: 6 / 11
Offside: 7 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
RAP – David Pardo (caution) 90th minute
Officials:
Referee: Richonne Clark
Assistant Referee 1: Danny Thornberry
Assistant Referee 2: Kip Jackson
Fourth Official: Bernhardt Hosu
ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Yaw Amankwa
