Academy update

Washington, D.C. (August 14, 2012) – D.C. United’s Academy has begun its preparation for the upcoming USSDA season. Last week, a team made up of U-16 and U-18 players participated in the 2012 Generation adidas Cup in Seattle. Already back in Washington, the Black-and-Red will resume training this week as they look ahead to several friendly matches scheduled for Labor Day Weekend. The friendlies will take place at Morven Park in Leesburg, Va. and will include matchups against the Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Philadelphia Union, and New York Red Bulls.

The 2012 Generation adidas Cup included matches against FC Dallas, LA Galaxy, Toronto FC, Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA. United’s first opponent was FC Dallas, who proved to be a tough opponent as the Black-and-Red fell 3-2 with goals by Nigel Robinson (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park HS) and Jorge Calix (Ft. Washington, Md./St. Stephens Episcopal HS). United then fell to the LA Galaxy by 4-0, before suffering a similar result against Toronto FC. The Academy team lost by 4-1 against the Canadians, with Ian Harkes (Fairfax, Va/Gonzaga HS) scoring United’s lone goal.

D.C. United picked up their game in the last two matches, earning victories against the Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA. The Black-and-Red defeated Houston by 2-1 with a brace from Cristhyan Najar (Alexandria, Va.). United displayed their best performance against Chivas, defeating them by 5-1 with a hat trick from Nigel Robinson and goals from Mike Monahan and Mike Sauers (Glen Arm, Md.).

“It was a great experience for our younger players to get some quality games against quality opponents,” said United U-16 Head Coach Tom Torres. “The group showed their ability to play an aggressive possession style that often translated in great chances to score. We did not always finish those chances, but we were happy with the style of soccer played.”