D.C. United’s Academy will kickoff the 2012 Generation adidas Cup in Seattle this Friday, August 3. The Black-and-Red will compete in Group B against FC Dallas (Friday, August 3), LA Galaxy (Saturday, August 4), and Toronto FC (Monday, August 6).
United’s roster will be a mix of the club’s U-16 and U18 players, picked carefully by U-16 Head Coach Tom Torres and U-18 Head Coach Nolan Sheldon. Thirteen of the roster’s twenty players are members of the D.C. United U-16 team that recently competed in the USSDA National Championship in Houston, where the Black-and-Red earned the seventh ranking in the nation.
“For us, it’s a culmination of a great year and a great effort,” said Torres. “After the year that most of these players had, making it to nationals by playing good soccer and also getting good results, it’s a nice end-of-the-season event for them to be involved in. We’ll approach it with the same mentality we’ve had in the last few events.”
“[The team] has a good combination and will showcase different age groups,” added Sheldon. “We had the luxury of picking players not only based on their age but also on the positions they play in and what they can offer to the team. I think [this tournament] puts an exclamation point on this last Academy season. Any time you play against MLS teams the stakes are pretty high and we want the reputation that we are the toughest team on the East Coast – if not all of MLS.”
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