With a record of three draws and one loss, the CF Montréal Academy U15 and U17 teams took three points from their second trip to the New York area against the private academies of BW Gottschee and Met Oval.
The U17s’ efforts go unrewarded
Arriving in the New York suburbs looking to make up for their loss against Toronto, the U17s dominated their opening game against BW Gottschee Academy. Sebastien Udell Joseph opened the scoring for Montreal midway through the second half, assisted by Antoine Sedar N'Diaye. However, he and his teammates were caught out on two late set pieces for a cruel defeat. Final score: 2-1.
“It is disappointing because we were in total control of the game for 80 minutes and we did some very interesting things on the ball that we had worked on in training during the week,” said U17 head coach Maxime Leconte. “We didn't know how to kill the game at 1-0 and we let ourselves believe we had done the hardest part. We lacked concentration and aggressiveness on set pieces, especially since we know how important these phases are in MLS NEXT.”
U17 Starting XI vs. BW Gottschee Academy: Hammache – Pierre Lamarre – Godin – L. De Montigny – G. De Montigny – Pierre Alexis – Biello (cap.) – Arnaud – Sedar N’Diaye – Domanico – Happi Emaga
Substitutes: Derrien-Lairet, St Pierre, Udell Joseph, Alexis, Fotsing, J. Coulanges and R. Coulanges
Goals: Antoine (75th) and Rembiszewski (88th) for BW Gottschee Academy ; Udell Joseph (65th) for CF Montréal
Against Met Oval the following day, Leconte's players gained confidence thanks to another Udell Joseph goal with the player capitalizing on a poorly controlled ball by the opposing goalkeeper. Met Oval equalized eventually but Montreal took the lead once more through a Udell Joseph brace, assisted by Joaquim Coulanges. Montreal then conceded twice in the second half before tying the game to earn a point in the final minutes. Emrik Fotsing collected the equalizer off a corner kick. Final score: 3-3
“It was a very small pitch. It made it difficult to play our game in a very intense match with a lot of transitions,” said Leconte. “The freshness in the line-up allowed us to be aggressive and to perform well in certain phases of the game where our pressing allowed us to recover balls high up the pitch. I liked the character of the group which did not give up and allowed us to equalize. The trip was long, intense but above all very instructive.”
U17 Starting Xi vs. Met Oval: Derrien-Lairet – St Pierre – Godin – Pierre Alexis – J. Coulanges – Fotsing – Biello (cap.) – Arnaud – R. Coulanges – Chaverra-Gilbert – Udell Joseph
Substitutes: Hammache, G. De Montigny, L. De Montigny, Domanico, Sedar N’Diaye, Alexis and Happi Emaga
Goals: Klinenberg (30th, 46th) and Baez (59th) for Met Oval ; Udell Joseph (2nd, 33rd) and Fotsing (86th) for CF Montréal
Two bittersweet games for the U15s
The U15 team sought to maintain its positive momentum following three consecutive wins, the last one having been earned against rival Toronto FC at Centre Nutrilait. However, BW Gottschee Academy struck first with a goal after twelve minutes. Montreal's leading scorer Eliott Germain-Aubrey then responded with his fourth goal of the season, heading in a cross from Laurent Santana. Despite their domination and multiple chances, Montreal had to settle for a draw. Final score: 1-1.
U15 Starting XI vs. BW Gottschee Academy: Pohu – Kozlovskiy (cap.) – Marceau – Panait – Germain-Aubrey – Monnin – Adom Ampofo – Kadiamba – Santana – Kontchou – Graham-Roache
Substitutes: Belzile, Savadogo, Drepin, Scaglione, Dimbu-Vasile, Nué Brito, Casimir
Goals: Powell (12th) for BW Gottschee Academy ; Germain-Aubrey (38th) for CF Montréal
Like their U17 counterparts, the second match against Met Oval was a high-intensity and high-scoring affair. Trailing early in the match, U15 head coach Esteban Landazabal's boys responded through Diego Nué Brito, on a pass from Michael Adom Ampofo. The last 15 minutes of the game would prove chaotic. Montreal’s Vitaliy Movchan gave his team the 2-1 lead from the penalty spot, but the visitors then quickly conceded back-to-back goals. Two minutes later, Thomas Monnin took a free kick to a set up a header from defender Daniel Panait which found the back of the net. Final score: 3-3.
“It was a difficult weekend with two points taken from six,” said Landazabal. “Even if we are increasingly on the same page tactically, there are still a lot of details to work on technically with and without the ball to better execute what we want to do, especially in finishing. Out of seven games in the league, we have only been beaten once so we are a difficult team for our opponents to face. Now it's up to us to turn those close games into more comfortable wins.”
U15 Starting XI vs. Met Oval: Belzile – Corielus – Marceau - Savadogo – Drepin – Scaglione – Adom Ampofo – Dimbu-Vasile – Movchan – Nué Brito - Casimir
Substitutes: Pohu, Monnin, Kadiamba, Kontchou, Panait, Santana, Graham-Roache
Goals: Efthumiadis (2nd), Tober (77th) and Kastrat (78th) for Met Oval ; Nué Brito (38th), Movchan (75th) and Panait (80th) for CF Montréal