TUKWILA, Washington – The Montreal Impact U18 team made history Monday night by winning its US Soccer Development Academy's quarter-final matchup with the Seattle Sounders U18 by a 3-0 score.
In just its second year of existence, the U18s qualified as one of four semi-finalists in Academy play across the entire USA, along with FC Dallas, PDA and Bethesda-Olney.
“I’m extremely proud of our players,” said Impact U18 head coach Jason DiTullio. “It was not an easy game against a very good Sounders team that came out flying, but we managed the pressure properly. We suffered because we were not used to not controlling the pace of the game, but we adjusted and defended very well. We bent, but we did not break and we capitalized on our chances.”
Marco Dominguez (33rd minute), Fabio Morelli (53rd) and Sam Duffek (91st) scored in this historic victory.
“It was not our best game, but because we train hard for these situations, because we believe in each other, because we have many leaders in this team and a group of players who believe in our principles, we won the game.”
In the semi-finals, which will be played in Carson, California, the Impact takes on Bethesda-Olney Academy on Thursday, July 17 at 8pm EDT. The final and consolation games are set for Saturday, July 19, also at the StubHub Center.
“It was nice to win, but what was even better was that we played quality matches,” concluded DiTullio. “This is extremely important for the development of our players.”
