It’s half-time. The first half of the Development Academy season is almost behind us. But just before we get there, the traditional Winter Showcase will be held from November 30 to December 4. In this annual occurrence, the participating teams will play three games in a four-day period. The challenge is huge for the players and for the technical staff, who will needto ensure the team fitness levels are good, while offering performances that meet the Bleu-blanc-noir’s expectations. All results will count in the standings as regular season games.
Strong opponents in Florida
The Impact U17 will face opponents that started the season on the right foot. The group will begin against the Seattle Sounders FC on Friday, December 1, at noon. Seattle is the best team of its group with an unbeaten 10-0-1 record and is also the team that scored the most goals until now, with 45 in only 11 games. Ray Serrano Lopez stands out with 12 goals of his own.
The following day, at 2pm, Nicolas Gagnon’s squad will face Real Salt Lake. Once again, this team is unbeaten, with a 6-0-2 record. They are very strong defensively, having allowed only four goals thus far. The team from Utah also tops its group.
After a day off, the Impact U17 will close its Florida Winter Showcase adventure against the San Diego Surf, on Monday, December 4, at 11:15am. If the team’s record is 4-5-2 and less impressive than the other two opponents, the Impact will have to be careful of the accumulation of games.
“The goal is to offer three big performances, including two against teams that didn’t lose yet in the regular season,” said the Impact U17 head coach Nicolas Gagnon. “We want to remain serene and aggressive while playing according to our principles in these three games, no matter where they go.”
About the Impact U17
The Bleu-blanc-noir is in a good position so far with a 7-3-1 record, 26 goals scored and 15 allowed, second of its group. However, the team has not tasted victory in its last two games and will want to go back to winning ways.
Throughout the years in Development Academy, the Impact found out that the Winter Showcase could be extremely important to be in a good position for the playoffs if the team comes back to Montreal with positive results.
