The club’s U23 team played two friendlies this past week, dominating in both games, but coming out with two different results.
A couple of mistakes led to two goals by UQAM on Thursday and the Impact left the Stade Saputo synthetic field with a 2-2 draw off of goals by Victor Ndiaye and Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle.
Starting XI: Luca Leone (GK), Franck Zoue, Chakib Hocine, Mitchel Bringolf, Zachary Sukunda, John Dinkota, Mastanabal Kacher, Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, Emad Houache, Victor Ndiaye, Fabio Morelli
Then on Sunday, IMFC pulled out all the stops in a 5-0 victory over the University of Sherbrooke, with goals by Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle (2), Mastanabal Kacher, Amine Meftouh and Charles Joly.
Starting XI: David Paulmin (GK), Janouk Charbonneau, Chakib Hocine, Amine Meftouh, John Dinkota, Jonathan Vallée, Mastanabal Kacher, Yacine Aït Slimane, Guillaume Trudel, Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle, Kévin Lafond
"There were small issues in our game, playing a friendly match after five weeks without a game,” explained Philippe Eullaffroy, head coach of the U23s and Academy Director. “The boys played two quality matches even if the second was more successful. We have two games remaining this week versus McGill (Thursday) and the Ottawa Fury reserve team (Sunday). It is important to have success in these last two matches to go on holiday with good results under our belts, and thusly, start preparations on the right foot for next season.”
“This week will be an emotional one as we are in our third assessment, where we will announce to the youngsters who will continue with us in USL Pro and those who will no longer take part,” added Eullaffroy. “The decisions are very difficult knowing that all these young players have the quality.”
Academy upcoming matches
Impact U23: Thursday, October 16 at McGill, Percival Molson, 8pm
Impact U18 & U16: Saturday, October 18 at Seacoast United
Impact U23: Sunday, October 19 vs Ottawa Fury, Stade Saputo Synthetic Field
