Development Academy: D.C. United, McLean Youth Soccer sweep weekend matches
By Jimmy LaRoue
D.C. United’s U-16s ran its undefeated start to the season to eight games after a 3-0 win over Virginia Rush at Long Bridge Park.
United (8-0-0) got first half goals from Julian Cummings (22nd minute), Jean-Christophe Koffi (34th minute) and Gerson Umana (37th minute) and held off Rush (1-5-0) for the win. Koffi now has six goals on the season, while Umana has a team-high eight goals. Koffi added two assists, while Umana assisted on Koffi’s goal.
“The boys played a solid match,” said United U-16 coach Tom Torres on the club’s website. “They did not give their opponent much room to find a rhythm. Playing in the other team’s end is something we continuously demand of the players, and they were very successful in that aspect this week. With two tough northern road matches before the Showcase, we will need to make sure the boys continue to put a lot of work into training.”
United’s U-18s (6-1-1) dominated in a 7-1 win over Rush (0-5-1), putting itself tied for the Atlantic Division lead on points (19) with PA Classics (6-1-1).Three United players scored twice in the match–Denis Najar, Patrick Foss and Timothy Wilson. Michael Seaton also added a goal, while Rush’s lone goal came from Mason Duke. Najar has six goals on the season.
Najar opened the scoring in the 9th minute, one-timing Nigel Robinson’s cross for the early lead. Foss added to that with a long-range effort in the 43rd minute, and Najar got his second of the match just before halftime on a 25-yard blast. Seaton scored less than a minute into the second half, while Foss converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute. Wilson scored his two goals in the last five minutes of the match to cap things off.
“[The] match showcased the number of quality attacking players on this team,” said United U-18 coach Nolan Sheldon. “Nigel Robinson and Denis Najar were dangerous throughout the match and forced VA Rush to respect their pace and creativity. We have placed a great emphasis on scoring first and the impact it has on the game. To the team’s credit, they have successfully scored first in each of the past five matches and, as a result, have picked up some good results recently.”
McLean Youth Soccer, meanwhile, took a pair of matches from Potomac, with the U-18s getting a goal from Rahim Dorsey in the 66th minute to win 1-0, and the U-16s winning 2-1, with two first half goals from Zachary Poretz (18th minute) and Iain Holmes (36th minute) enough to hold off Potomac, whose lone goal came from Ronald Ventura in the 71st minute.
