The Montreal Impact Academy teams came away with important points over the weekend in USSDA action, hosting the Oakwood Soccer Club at the Stade Saputo Turf Field on Sunday afternoon.
The older side earned a hard fought 1-0 shutout win, thanks to a goal by forward Mohamed Dagnogo. Goalkeeper Yann-Alexandre Fillion earned the shutout.
“We played a very solid game defensively, which allowed us to express ourselves offensively,” said U18 head coach, Jason DiTullio. “We were patient, always in control of the game and kept pushing for goal collectively. We maintained the effort for the entire game to get the result. I’m proud that we respected our principles and the game plan for the full 90 minutes.”
The U16 team played to a 2-2 draw, with goals by midfielder Jimmy Sanon and striker Don Junior Bobe after leading the game two goals to none in the first half. Goalkeeper Charles Desrochers was shown a red card in the 48th minute for a last man foul, resulting in a penalty and subsequently forcing the Academy to play down a man for over 40 minutes.
“A lot of positives from this game,” said U16 head coach Simon Gatti. “We played a really good first half and scored some goals, which has been tough for us of late. We showed good mental strength and the will to get a result despite playing a man down for most of the second half. I thought we were a bit unlucky on the red card, but it’s a good learning experience.”
Espoirs U14
Meanwhile, the Impact Espoirs B (U14) travelled to New York State to take on the U14 Revolution Empire in a friendly in its first ever road game.
Defender Tristano Fasulo scored the game’s only goal off of a corner kick, lifting the Impact side to a 1-0 victory, while goalkeeper Mathieu Pinheiro-Borges earned the shutout.
