Trip to PA: The D.C. United Academy continued the 2009 season with a trip up to Pennsylvania to face FC Delco and PA Classics. It was another successful weekend for the U18s, who won both games by the score of 2-1, while the U16s struggled to find the same success, losing to FC Delco 1-0 and drawing PA Classics 0-0.
“It was a tough weekend on the road against clubs who work hard and always give you difficult games,” said United’s Director of Youth Development John Maessner. “We are progressing as a club but have to refocus a bit on playing our style of soccer, a style that D.C. United is known for, a style that has given our first team it's reputation and a style that our Academy teams try to replicate. Our task now is to find the delicate balance between keeping possession of the ball and getting forward quickly when the opportunity is there. We are excited to continue our work in helping our players reach their potential and look forward to pushing on with our very competitive Academy schedule.”
The U18s earned their win over FC Delco in dramatic fashion, scoring their two goals in the last three minutes of the game. Getting on the scoreboard for United were Chris Hegngi and Sean Murnane. Two goals from Murnane were enough to beat the PA Classics on Sunday in Lancaster.
Academy Players: U18 defender/midfielder Aaron Rilling has officially committed to Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. starting in the fall. Meanwhile, U16 player Kennedy O’Shea has been called up to the U.S. U14 Boy’s National Team camp that will take place from May 2-9 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The weeklong training camp will feature the best players from around the country trying to make an impression on coaches and technical staff from the U.S. youth team.
Upcoming Matches: This coming weekend United’s Academy teams will play host to the Baltimore Bays at the Maryland Soccerplex on Saturday, February 28. The U16s will take the field at 1 p.m. while the U18s will play at 3 p.m.
Broadcasting and P.A. Request: When speaking of the organization, please refer to the team as either “D.C. United” or “United,” but not “the D.C. United” or “the United.” We appreciate your cooperation.
Doug Hicks,
dhicks@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5448,
Boris Flores,
bflores@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5452,
Kyle Sheldon,
ksheldon@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5450 or
Cristina Cruz,
ccruz@dcunited.com
, (202) 587-5440
