The Impact U23 will kick off its inaugural season in the PDL against the Westchester Flames this Saturday at 7:30pm at City Park Stadium, in New York. It will be possible to follow the game live by following @academieimpact on twitter.
The league consists of 64 teams, split into four conferences and into 10 sub-divisions which gives the teams a chance to stand out in 14 games respectively.
The Montreal Impact U23 will be playing in the Eastern Conference under the Northeast Division, along with seven other teams; CFC Azul, GPS Phoenix, Real Boston Rams, Seacoast United Phantoms, Vermont Voltage, Westchester Flames and the Western Mass Pioneers.
“It’s hard to have ambitions when faced with a new championship and a level of play we are still unfamiliar with,” says head coach and Academy director Philippe Eullaffroy. “We don’t have a clear outlook yet on the future within the PDL so we are concentrating fully on our quality of play. Once we have that down, the results will follow.”
“The PDL is a tool to continue the player’s development in order for them to maximize their chances to be selected for a professional career in soccer,” added Eullaffroy.
Team captain Amine Meftouh is pretty excited to get things started.
“We are ready to play and show the other teams what it means to be part of the Academy from the moment we set foot on the field. It’s a new adventure but we are ready for what’s to come.”
Starting their pre-season in January, the U23’s lost only once in seven games in the Quebec University Championship and bettered those results by winning four of its five recently friendlies in preparation for the start of the season.
“With about fifteen preseason games since January, I can say the team is on the right track,” said Eullaffroy. “We have won a fair amount of games and are building up a good momentum. Although Westchester ended at the bottom of its division last year, we won’t know if we are on par with the PDL teams until we see the results after our first games.”
The Impact U23 will play its home opener against the Flames on June 1st at the Stade Saputo’s synthetic field at 5pm. All home games are open to the public and free of charge.
Follow @academieimpact
