U15 side takes on New York Cosmos in Montreal
The US Soccer Development Academy is back in Montreal this weekend for the Impact’s U15 side, who take on the New York Cosmos, this Saturday at 10am at Stade Hébert. All three Academy teams will then travel to Gillette Stadium the following weekend to take on the New England Revolution’s youth teams.
On Saturday, March 14, the U15s will kick things off at 12:15pm, with the U17 squad playing at 2:30pm, followed by the U19s’ game at 5pm.
“It’s a return to action in the DA, although all our teams have played games during this offseason,” explained the Administrative Director of Soccer Operations, Patrick Leduc. “Our focus now returns to the DA and the DA Cup, which is not too far away.”
The DA Cup, a new format of competition introduced by the Development Academy this season, takes place in late April. The Impact U17 and U19 both qualified in the top 8 to take part in the final phase of the competition.
The Impact U17 will first take on Sporting Kansas City on April 29 in the quarterfinals, while the Impact U19 will go up against the Philadelphia Union in the first round.
“We’re aiming as high as possible,” added Leduc. “Both teams managed to qualify to the top 8 out of a pool of over 80 teams, so that says a lot. It also ensures our participation in the playoffs, which is a plus.”
The Academy will also benefit from many of its top players gaining experience from the first team’s training camp: Keesean Ferdinand and Tomas Giraldo spent the entire training camp with Thierry Henry’s squad, while Zachary Fernandez and Yanick Laurent joined the squad for the second phase in St. Petersburg. Jean-Aniel Assi was also at the first phase of camp until suffering an injury.
You can follow the Impact Academy’s Twitter (@academieimpact) for updates concerning the results of our upcoming games.
