D.C. United Academy update: May 14, 2009

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.