Development Academy: Robert Kerby with breakout performance for Virginia Rush at Winter Showcase
By Jimmy LaRoue
Robert Kerby had a breakout weekend for Virginia Rush’s U-18s at the Development Academy’s 2012 Winter Showcase.
Kerby tallied eight goals in three games as Rush picked up two shutout wins and a tie in Florida.
Kerby opened the showcase by scoring all four of Rush’s goals in a shutout win over St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro in its opening game Friday. He scored twice in the first half, and twice more in the second half (21st, 44th, 49th and 78th minutes) to lead Rush to the win.
Rush, which had been 0-5-1 in Atlantic Division play going into the weekend, picked up a second win Saturday, 6-0 against Met Oval Juventus, with Kerby picking up three more goals (23rd, 27th 85th minutes).
After Kerby picked up two goals in the space of four minutes in the first half, Ethan Scott tallied another for Rush in the 33rd minute. Brian Anderson and James Ellis, Jr. scored five minutes apart in the second half before Kerby picked up his third goal of the game late in the match.
In Virginia Rush’s final match against Texas Rush, Kerby opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but Texas Rush managed the tie with a 63rd minute goal from Bubacarr Jobe.
But Rush was hardly the only local U-18 academy side to have a successful weekend in Florida.
Baltimore Bays Chelsea scored three wins in three matches–3-2 over Solar Chelsea SC, 3-0 over South Carolina United Battery Academy and 4-2 over Minnesota Thunder Academy, though in all three games, the score was tied at halftime.
Bays were tested against Solar. After a scoreless first half, Bays fell behind after Solar’s Jonathan Guzman scored in the 56th minute. But Moja Hale equalized for Bays three minutes later. And when Cameron Drackett restored Solar’s advantage in the 69th minute, Bays once again had a quick response, as Tanner Vosvick scored four minutes later. Romilio Hernandez then scored the game-winner in the 83rd minute.
In Bays’ win over South Carolina United, again it was scoreless at the half before they got three goals in 10 minutes from three different players–Jacori Hayes in the 52nd minute, John Jlopleh in the 55th minute and Angus Maloney in the 62nd minute.
Bays, in their third showcase game, raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the match–both goals coming from Yaw Amankwa, who has 12 goals in 11 games. But Thunder’s Benjamin Bakke goal in the 21st minute and Matthew Gweh’s in the 40th minute tied the match. Hale then restored Bays’ lead with a 58th minute goal, and Hernandez provided a late, 89th minute goal for the final margin.
D.C. United picked up two wins in three matches, defeating North Carolina Fusion 5-1 Friday and FC Dallas 1-0 the following day before falling to Chivas USA 4-3 Monday.
Against Fusion, United’s David Warburton opened the scoring in the 2nd minute, and two goals from Nigel Robinson (28th, 39th minutes) and another from Ian Harkes (30th minute) before halftime spurred United to the win. Fusion pulled one back on a 43rd minute goal from Noah Seach, but Kennedy O’Shea scored another in the 56th minute to restore United’s four-goal margin.
O’Shea got United’s lone–and game-winning–goal against FC Dallas in the 62nd minute in the encounter between two of the top teams in their respective divisions.
The Richmond Strikers, near the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings, scored two straight wins at the showcase after opening with a 3-0 loss Friday against Texas Rush. The Strikers got a 2-1 win against Seacoast United, and a 2-0 win against Nomads SC.
With the match tied at 1-1 in the late stages, Ben Gallik’s goal in second half stoppage time gave the Strikers the win. Elliot Makris opened the scoring for the Strikers in the 22nd minute, but Seacoast’s Gunnar Ericsson tied the match in the 38th minute.
The Strikers were scoreless with Nomads until Benji Pullen’s 72nd minute goal. James Hart added an insurance goal in the 87th minute.
Like the Strikers, McLean Youth Soccer opened with a loss before scoring two wins at the showcase.
McLean fell 1-0 to Real Colorado on Friday, but rallied Saturday for a 2-1 win over FC Milwaukee and a 3-0 win over San Diego Surf. Anthony Flores and Joseph McCreary scored McLean’s goals against FC Milwaukee, with McCreary’s proving to be the game-winner in the 79th minute.
Against Surf, McCreary opened the scoring just before halftime, with Matthew Ledder and Rahim Dorsey adding goals six minutes apart in the second half.
Potomac, last place in the Atlantic Division, went 1-1-1 at the showcase, and had leads in all three matches.
Potomac fell 3-2 to Classics Elite Friday, picked up a 1-0 win against Andromeda FC and a 1-1 tie against Internationals Monday. In its opener, Potomac twice held one-goal leads, with the match staying tied at 2-2 for most of the second half until Gerardo Hernandez’s 90th minute game-winner for Classics. Jacob Garcia and Matthew Chrencik scored Potomac’s goals against Classics.
In the match against Internationals, Elvin Arbaiza opened the scoring for Potomac in the 13th minute. Potomac held the lead for much of the match before Nathan Shultz tied it in the 88th minute.
Jeremy Cohen scored Potomac’s lone goal, which proved to be the game winner, against Andromeda.
Only the Richmond Kickers failed to come out of the showcase with a win, falling in three straight matches–4-1 to Andromeda FC, 1-0 to Indiana Fire Academy and 4-0 to Cal Odyssey.
