Trip to New England: The D.C. United Academy U16 and U18 teams traveled to New England to take on the Revolution Academy sides at Gillette Stadium. The U16s lost 3-2, while the U18s managed to come away with a 1-1 draw.
“These are the types of experiences where you grow as a player, learn how your body handles these situations and how to better be prepared the next time around,” said John Maessner, United’s Director of Youth Development. “Overall, the teams played fairly well but obviously were hoping for better results.”
Faced with an early 8 a.m. kickoff, the U16s started slowly, with a lack of energy and fatigue present in the match. Goals from Yaw Amankwa and Andy Najar weren’t enough to overcome the Revolution’s three tallies. A red card for defender Phillip Nwosu compounded things, as the U16s finished with ten men.
“It was a tough match for us, as the early kickoff quickly wore the players down,” said U16 coach Roberto DaSilva. “We struggled defensively and had troubles communicating, especially between the midfield and back four.”
The U18s fared a bit better, controlling most of their game against the Revolution U18 side. A goal from Eliseo Fraga gave D.C. a 1-0 lead that held until the last five minutes of the match, when a late equalizer settled the game at 1-1.
“Our team played very hard and with passion, despite adjusting to the travel and dealing with injury concerns,” said U18 coach Judah Cooks. “We did well to grab a lead, but New England tied it up in the last five minutes when our boys had nothing else in the tank.”
Season winding down: Three more important competitions remain on the youth calendar. The Spring Showcase takes the team to Sarasota, FL, where they’ll play on May 21-25. The Academy Playoffs are the next month, from June 25-29 in Greensboro, NC, while the Finals would be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA from July 10-17. Last but not least, this year’s MLS U17 Cup will be held in Denver, CO on July 3-8.
U16 and U18 Academy Tryouts: In an effort to identify the best youth players in the Washington D.C. area, the D.C. United Academy will be holding tryouts for the U16 and U18 Academy teams in June. Tryout dates are scheduled for June 8, 12, 15, and 19, July 28-30, and August 11-13. Sessions will be held at RFK Stadium’s Auxiliary Turf Field. Further details are available at www.dcunited.com/academy.
U15 and U20 Academy Tryouts: The D.C. United Academy will also be holding tryouts for the U15 Academy Training Program and the Super-20 Academy Team. The last date for tryouts will be May 18 at the RFK Stadium Auxiliary Turf Field for both groups. Further details are available at www.dcunited.com/academy.
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
