CARSON, California - The Montreal Impact U18 team finished its remarkable season with a 3-2 victory over FC Dallas U18, last Saturday, to clinch third place in the US Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) playoffs, a league that regroups about 80 teams throughout US and Canada.
Even though the team had a very busy month with a long playoff run and 21 258 km of traveling the U18 came from behind in a back-and-forth game to eventually score the game-winning goal in stoppage time of the second half.
After going down 1-0 before halftime, the Impact scored its first goal of the game in the 64th minute when Mitchel Bringolf tied the game at 1-1.
After an FC Dallas U18 goal in the 70th minute, Alexander Kulic leveled the score again in the 84th minute with a precise header.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Fabio Morelli scored to put the Impact U18s up following a play that started from Leonardo Kossaka’s foot.
“I think it confirms a successful season,” said U18 head coach Jason DiTullio. “Not a lot of people had us in the final four, but the group believed in it. Yes, we won third place, but we also finished as the best MLS Academy team.”
“The third place finish is important on two levels,” said academy director Philippe Eullaffroy. “It helps validate our work and the direction the academy is going in, in terms of the technical and tactical work we put in to develop our players. It also allows us to establish ourselves on a competitive level.”
STARTING LINEUP IMPACT U18
Yann-Alexandre Fillion, Aron Mkungilwa, Mitchel Bringolf, Mélé Temguia, Zachary Sukunda, Jonathan Vallée, Marco Dominguez, Nevello Yoseke, Mastanabal Kacher, Heikel Jarras, Fabio Morelli
