D.C. United Academy update: May 6, 2015
Washington, D.C. (Via D.C. United) – D.C. United Academy Under-13, Under-14, Under-15, Under-16 and Under-18 teams all returned to action over the weekend playing one match each on Saturday, May 2.
The U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams took on Richmond United at Evergreen Sportsplex in Leesburg, Va., while the U-13 and U-15 teams traveled to Covenant Park in Ellicott, Md., to play the Soccer Association of Columbia (SAC). The U-14, U-16, and U-18 teams combined for a 1-1-1 record against Richmond United and the U-13 and U-15 teams came away with a 1-1-0 record against SAC. All teams will return to action on May 9 against the PA Classics with the U-13 and U-15 teams playing at the RFK auxiliary field, while the U-14, U-16, and U-18 academies return to the Evergreen Sportsplex.
The D.C. United Academy Under-12 team also featured over the weekend on Sunday, May 3. They went up against the Ukrainian Nationals at the RFK auxiliary field. The U-12 team continued its successful run, securing a 2-1 win against a tough Ukrainian Nationals side. The U-12 team will return to action in two weeks, on May 16, against Maryland Rush at the RFK auxiliary field at 3 p.m.
U-12: 2-1 Win against Ukrainian Nationals
Goals: Axel Keppler (2)
“The U-12 team struggled to find a rhythm against a very good Ukrainian Nationals group. After giving up an early goal, I was happy to see the boys dig in and work collectively to right the ship,” said U-12 Head Coach Dave Sanford. “The match put our boys under a lot of stress for the full seventy minutes which is good for their continuing development.”
U-13: 0-2 Loss against SAC
“I am proud of the players’ effort as they continue to show a strong will and determination to compete every weekend,” said U-13 Head Coach John Bello. “We held very good bouts of possession and created some clear scoring opportunities, but in the end we couldn’t finish. This is something we will continue to work on throughout the upcoming week.”
U-14: 0-2 Loss against Richmond United
“Good match with strong moments in possession and out of possession,” said U-14 Head Coach and Academy Director Nolan Sheldon. “Although we created some quality chances in front of the goal, we weren’t able to put one away – we’ll continue to work hard in training.”
U-15: 2-0 Win against SAC
Goals: Noah Raphael, Conor Gill
“After a double loss last weekend, we bounced back and showed an excellent understanding of ball security and creation of space in possession. We were thrilled with the boy’s character to come back from a weekend with two losses and control the tempo of the game,” said U-15 coach Jeff Carroll. “We were able to get in dangerous positions by using the full width of field which led to numerous scoring opportunities. We will continue to work on our build up play from the middle third to the attacking third while including aspects of finishing in the week to come.”
U-16: 1-1 Draw with Richmond United
Goals: SahrFelix Sandy
“The boys put in a solid performance and were unlucky to not get the three points. The group dominated possession and created many opportunities but were not able to get the elusive second goal,” said U-16 Head Coach Jonathan Frias. “The focus this week will be to continue to focus on destabilizing the opponent in the final third in preparation for a very important match on Saturday against a well-organized team.”
U-18: 3-2 Win against Richmond United
Goals: Owen Marshall, Christophe Koffi, Eryk Williamson
“The group had a dominating performance and put together some good spells of play throughout the match,” said stand-in U-18 Head Coach Jonathan Frias. “The group was able to score at the right moments and kept the ball for the majority of the match.”
