For the first time this season, two of the three Impact teams in the Development Academy were coming back from losses and wanted to get back on track against BW Gottschee at Centre Nutrilait. On top of facing a strong club, the Impact also had to deal with mother nature, as strong winds and rain made for a very gloomy Sunday.
The Bleu-blanc-noir can say mission accomplished, as the three teams got the three points at the final whistles.
Impact U15 wins 3-1
Serge Dinkota’s players started the game strong. In the 5th minute, Matthew Catavolo dribbled around the box before taking a precise shot from 25 metres out. The ball touched the post before going into the net.
Gottschee tried to answer right away on a corner kick, but goalkeeper Samuel Bandi made the save. Montreal doubled its lead in the 32nd minute, when Mouhamadou Kane scored on a pass from Catavolo.
When they got back from the locker room, Gottschee finally scored, but the Impact retrieved its two-goal lead before the end of the game, on a second goal from Mouhamadou Kane, this time on a counter, giving the Bleu-blanc-noir a 3-1 win.
With this win, the Impact U15 leaped over BW Gottschee at the top of the group.
Impact U17 wins 2-1
The Impact U17 trailed 1-0 after 10 minutes when Gottschee scored on a free kick just outside of the box.
After a few chances, Georges-Édouard Tissot scored his first goal in Development Academy in his first start, on a pass from Moulay Abdallah Kanzi Belghiti.
In the second half, the visitors’ goalkeeper was ejected when he touched the ball with his hands on the goal line on a back pass from the defender.
The Impact didn’t score on the indirect free kick that followed in the box, but Woobens Pacius scored the winning goal in the 78th minute when he lobbed the goalkeeper.
Just like the Impact U15, the U17 group passes in front of Gottschee at the top of the division with the win.
Impact U19 wins 3-2
Being labelled the best team in the league brought a new challenge for the Impact U19 last Sunday. Gottschee had prepared and played with a compact defensive system in the first half. The visitors even scored first and were leading 1-0 after the first half.
Back on the field to start the second, Philippe Eullaffroy’s players reacted how they were expected to, and scored two quality goals in the first ten minutes of play.
After a combination between Tristan Resendes and Mathieu Choinière, Daniel Kinumbe scored the Impact’s first goal of the night in the 49th minute. Vincent Lamy then gave the Academy the lead in the 53rd minute, on a cross from Kinumbe.
Protais Mutambala scored the last goal for the Bleu-blanc-noir after dribbling through the defenders and shooting low in the 86th minute.
In stoppage time, defender Yohan Le Bourhis was unlucky when he scored an own goal after deflecting a shot from outside of the box, but the Impact still won the game.
The Impact U19 remains first in the league, tied with the New York Red Bulls, with a perfect record of 8-0-0.
Next games
The three Impact teams will face a big challenge this weekend, as they will all play two games in two days in the United States.
The Impact will face Beachside SC’s teams Saturday, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with the U15 team playing at 10am, the U17 at noon and the U19 at 2:15pm. On Sunday, they will face Oakwood SC, starting at 11am with the U15 teams, 1pm for the U17 meeting and 3:30pm for the U19 game, in Portland, Connecticut.
