Torrential downpours, weather delays, red cards and a tornado warning made for a long, tiresome and eventful Tuesday. Both the D.C. United U-18s and U-16s were in action on yesterday, June 24.
The U-18s played first, facing MLS rival the New York Red Bulls at high noon. United came into the game needing a win against a Red Bulls side ranked number one in their group and number two in the nation. The Black-and-Red struck first in the 9th minute when Samuel Kahsai crossed in a ball to an awaiting Joshua Golob, who headed it past the Red Bulls ‘keeper. New York answered just before halftime to tie the game at 1-1 going into the break.
The thunderclouds rolled in during halftime and the sky opened up 10 minutes into the second half. The downpour continued for the rest of the game, making the playing conditions very difficult. RBNY caught United off-guard in the 73rd minute on a fast break to go up 2-1. United continued to pressure the Red Bulls and hit three shots off the post in the dying minutes, but DCU were unable to even up the score.
The U-16s were scheduled to play their first playoff game immediately after the U-18s at 2:30 p.m., but were delayed several hours because of severe weather in the Indianapolis area. Finally after the rain, tornado and lightening delays, the U-16’s game kicked off against Concorde Fire at 6:10 p.m. Antonio Bustamante converted a penalty kick in the 8th minute after Lucas Mendes was taken down in the penalty area to give United the early lead. Bustamante struck again two minutes later from 20 yards out to secure the 2-0 lead that stood until halftime.
United pressured Concorde’s backline early in the second half, but Concorde broke away on a counter attack and tallied to make it 2-1. The physicality of the game continued to rise, with several Concorde players receiving yellow cards for hard and late tackles on United players. Both Concorde and United received red cards within minutes of each other in the second half, and each team played the remainder of the game with 10 men. Milton Juarez created the last scoring opportunity for United when he beat his defender and was taken down in the penalty area for another United PK. Bustamante stepped up and beat the keeper again to complete his hat trick and give United the 3-1 win.
U-18s Box Score vs. New York Red Bulls
Goals: Joshua Golob (Samuel Kahsai) [9]
Starting XI: Umarr Bangura, Jonathan Bell, Adam Burnaby-Atkins, James Filerman, Joshua Golob, Samuel Kahsai, Alexander Kao, Christian Kershaw, James Knoebel, Timothy Oberg and Justin Roberts
Next Game: Thursday, June 26 vs. Nomands FC at 10 a.m. on field 5
U-16s Box Score vs. Concorde Fire
Goals: Antonio Bustamante [8] [10] and [65]
Starting XI: Tyler Beaudoin, Antonio Bustamante, Brennan Ireland, Patrick Jean-Gilles, Christophe Koffi, Lucas Mendes, Donovan Pines, Daniel Reeves, Ibrahim Seye, Jonathan Sousa and Gerson Umana
Next Game: Wednesday, June 25 vs. Sockers FC at 2:00 p.m. on field 30
