The Impact U18 and U16 teams were in Dallas last week to play the first round of the USSDA playoffs. The round includes the 32 teams that qualified on 74 teams, divided in eight groups of four teams each. Only the team at the top of its group after playing three games goes through to the next round.
The Impact U16, coached by Nicolas Gagnon, was facing Real So Cal, Sacramento Republic and Crew SC Academy Wolves. The Bleu-blanc-noir lost its first two games by a 2-0 score, before winning the last one 3-0 against Crew SC. Clément Bayiha, Protais Mutambala and Tristan Resendes scored in the victory.
Head coach Nicolas Gagnon gave us his comments on the week:
Q – What’s your summary of the three playoff games?
A – The most important thing is that we were better every game. If we played the first two games like the last one, we would have had a chance, but it was already too late. We had problems on our defensive coverage in the first two games. We should have picked our moments to attack better, which we did well in the third game, where on 80 minutes, there was attacking quality and we were in a better position defensively.
Q – What do you hope the players learn from these five days?
A – Players know what’s expected to go through the first playoff round. These are three big games against three good teams where we have to show our identity in extreme heat. Players learned to push their limits, not only with their efforts, but also with their decisions and lucidity. The demands at the high level are often higher than what the players think and this week, some players realized it.
The team will be back in training one last week before going on vacation. Players will be back at the beginning of August to prepare for the 2016-17 USSDA season.
