Maybe in person? Game wasn't on ESPN+. They played on Sunday, May 27, 2018 Seattle won 1-0 SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2004 ACADEMY 1 SAN DIEGO SURF 2004 USSDA 0
THe DA academy season ended this past weekend with tickets to the playoffs being punched (unless there were postponed games I don't know about.) The top 4 playoff seeds for the U19 playoffs (if all games are done): 1) NYRB 2) FCD 3) Philadelphia 4) Montreal For the U17s: 1) FCD 2) Sounders 3) NYRB 4) Sockers If you ask me what the biggest disappointment in the academy is................the answer is clear. The Chicago Fire look to have missed the playoffs in both age groups. We really need a Chicago fan to tell us what's going on with that academy. The Sockers, by the way, finished first in both age groups of the Mid-America division. So there's clearly talent in that area that isn't going to the MLS academy. By the way, the director of the Fire academy came from PSG. He's got a lot of work to do.
A reminder about the playoff format: http://www.ussoccerda.com/20180601-feature-final-boysda-weekend-what-to-watch-for Academy postseason play on the Boys' side (U-16/17 and U-18/19) consisting of 32 teams from the two oldest age groups entering a draw. The top three teams in each division enter the playoffs as automatic qualifiers, and they are joined by 11 wild card teams which are based on points per game average. Teams are segmented into four groups, based on final seeding (via points per game average). The top eight teams enter pot one, 9-16 make up pot two, 17-24 form pot three and 25-32 shape out pot four. Next, one team per pot is drawn into each of the eight groups (A-H). The only exception is that no team can be matched up in a playoff group with another team from the same division. The matchups from this year's Boys' Development Academy Draw are expected to be announced on Wednesday, June 6.
DC United U-17 was postponed this weekend. If they win tonight, they are in. If not, they aren't. They are playing Virginia Development Academy who isn't good, but DC is missing their best player (Nyeman) and their third best player (Yow). Both are at YNT camps. I hope they win. Nyeman not making the playoffs would be a shame. Other than the pros who are sent down to play, he'd likely be the best player there.
By the way, I don't know if people saw this...................... The competition was Caribbean, but they did beat some national teams. Beat the Jamaican u15s 4-0. Nothing to sneeze at there. DC United U15 come from behind to win the @CaymanU15Cup over the U15 Cuba National Team 2-1 goals from @jeremygaray10 & @jacob88j 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🏆🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 #campeones pic.twitter.com/18RHqp9Dqn— D.C. United Academy (@DCUyouth) June 3, 2018
Chicago's academy is putrid. There's just not much talent there. They usually have one or two good players, but outside of that, the rest of their players wouldn't get minutes for the better academies. Gotta feel bad for Damian Las. He deserves to be in the playoffs, but he can't do everything. The playoffs is almost always about which pros are sent where. U-19: I think its going to come down to Atlanta and Dallas here, assuming the pros (Ferreira, Pomykal, Servania, Richards, Carleton, Goslin, maybe Bello) who aren't playing are sent here. Dallas was better a year ago in the U-17 final, but Carleton won the game by himself. Will adding Pomykal and Servania be too much for Atlanta to keep up with? Atlanta has added Garces. Dallas has added Richards and Cappis. How do those additions balance out? What happens if NYRB sends Adams down? That could be a game changer. Same with Davies for Vancouver. If they are sent down, I think their teams could compete for the title. I wouldn't rule out RSL just because of the Soto, Ledezma combo. Philly is another one I wouldn't count out. They have some good players, Rafanello, Ofeimu, Temple, Aaronson. They also have pros like McKenzie and Real who could be sent down. Where do their best 01's play? U-17: I think this is going to play right off what happens at the U-19 level. I don't believe teams like Seattle, LA, NYCFC have such great chances to win the top division. Do they send their best 01's and 02's to the top division or let them play in their age group where they might have a better chance to win? And some of it may not even be that much of a choice. If they get eliminated early in the top division, the decision will be made for them. I don't think its clear cut what happens with that, so we'll have to wait to find out who plays where. Philly is right on the fringe here. I think what they do with their better 01's could determine if they can compete here. And I wouldn't count out Dallas or Atlanta any year, but these are weak groups for both. I know the standings say Dallas is the best team in the U-17 league, but I don't buy that. All it tells me is that they aren't stretched to put their best 01's and 02's into the U-19 division as much as some other teams are, so they racked up more regular season points. Its a weak group who plays bad football and gives preference to the older year players instead of their best players. Where do Roberts and Reynolds play in the playoffs, U-19 or U-17? If its U-19, I think their chances are even worse. Similar for Atlanta. Where does Bello played? Is he still injured? Where does MacDonald play? I think Atlanta is probably even weaker at this division than Dallas. Really bad year for them. Talent is still probably within the top 5-10 of the playoffs, but the top-end talent is not there.
DC United tied 2-2, so they'll miss the playoffs by one spot. They gave up a tying goal in the 87th minute after having to play with 10 men since the 28th minute because of a red card. Really such a shame that probably the best player in '02 and best player in '03 will both not qualify for the playoffs at either level. Certainly an anomaly, but its not good for the playoffs. Less quality on display.
Really was looking forward to being able to watch another one of his games. Hopefully there will be many more in the future. I think it probably says something about the DA and our youth setup that we have our YNT calling in players right at the end of the season in pivotal games that decide playoff spots. I’m not necessarily being critical, and I think calling Nyeman in for the first time was important, but I at least thought it was worth bringing up that it doesn’t seem likely that a top European academy would release its players in the same situation. Tbh, I have no idea which would be more beneficial for their development, but it seems like kids getting a chance to play in a high stakes playoff format would be more better than a YNT camp without any games attached to it.
I don't think the FCD U19s will have Servania or Pomykal with the academy team. Just a hunch, but they'll either be with the first team or loaned out to OKC/Tulsa. They can still win the title without those guys. After all, they're the #2 seed in the country with those guys playing a miniscule role. (Pomykal hasn't played a DA game this season, only the Dallas Cup with this team. Servania played 2 games with the academy team). I do think its possible that Ferreira plays with them, and likely that Reynolds does. Along with Chris Richards and Carlos Avilez. THey've lost one academy game since the start of November 2017. That was 3-2 to the Galaxy at the winter showcase. I'd put them up there with the favorites, but you never know with these things. There are teams I just don't know much about. Crossfire won the Northwest Division above Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Sarcamento, and San Jose. They have a goal difference after 32 game of +74. Eeesh. Couldn't really tell you anything about them, but they must be pretty damn good. In their last two games they beat RSL 5-2 and Barca AZ 6-0. They have three kids that have scored more than 20 goals this season.
Its a tricky situation. For most teams, this weekend's game was irrelevant. And DC United was postponed until Monday. Its possible that some agreement could've been worked out between DC and US Soccer, but its probably best that Nyeman gets into the US setup, and progresses towards the U-17 NT as soon as possible rather than missing part of a US youth camp.
Postseason pots announced... http://www.ussoccerda.com/20180606-news-group-pairings-announced-2018-boys-da-playoffs
Quick take. U-17 A: I'd be shocked if this isn't Atlanta or RSL. I think they are both weak at this level this year, but I'd lean ATL. B: Weaker group, but I think Stojanovic can win his team a round or two. One of the most underrated players in the DA, IMO. C: If Seattle sends their best age-eligible players to this team, they should win. Wouldn't count out SKC, depending on where Busio, Duke, etc. are playing. D: For such a low-profile group, there is a lot of YNT talent on display here, especially from players playing up a year or two. Potentially Rotundo, Vegaalban, Sorensen, etc. If these games are shown, this might be one of the more exciting groups to watch. Colorado is the top seed, but I think Sacramento will take this group. E. Probably where Toure will be during the playoffs? I don't know much about Montreal, but I've seen them play once this season in this age-group, and they looked good. The rest of these teams don't seem the best, so I'd say Montreal. F. High-powered group. LAG vs. FCD. I think it comes down to these two, although Columbus has some interesting players and likely won't be a pushover. If LAG sends their best players to this age group, I think they take it. I don't think FCD can match Alvarez and Llanez. If not, FCD's depth probably wins out, but LAG doesn't have bad depth either in this age group, so I wouldn't count them out either way. I've been very unimpressed by this FCD group this year. They often leave out their best players and they don't play good football. G. This is another high powered group. NY derby. I think its similar to the above group. If NYCFC sends Reyna and Scally here, they win. If not, NYRB will probably win. They are consistent and have a good system, but don't have the same difference makers that NYCFC does. Houston could play spoiler though, if Palomino, Soto, Anderson are on their game. Thats a terrific attacking trio. Houston just doesn't have the depth to compete with the other two though. H. Group of death, as far as I'm concerned. I like this Philly team, especially if they send Pellegrino and Sessock down to compete with this team. I think this team could compete for the title. They have the best keeper in the U-17 competition, and Picazo is a match winner on his day. A lot of quality in this team. But there's no guarantee they get by Vancouver. I don't think I've seen them play this season in this age group, but they are always a tough out, and usually the best Canadian academy. To make matters more complicated in this group, this might be where Araujo plays. Will there be a better player in the U-17 competition than him? I'm not sure there will. That Barcelona team also has some other talents, so they could play spoiler. And while Orlando doesn't have a good academy, its an MLS academy, so for a fourth seed, its no walkover. U-19: A. RSL wins this easy, IMO. B. Likely the group of death. I think Atlanta will be too tough to beat if they get their MLS players to play here. Otherwise, its opened back up. Only team I don't think can win this group is Houston. Even if Palomino and Soto play in this age group, they just don't have the 99's and 00's to compete with the other teams. Its also part of why I'd put LA third favorite behind Atlanta and Montreal. Even if they have Alvarez and Llanez in this age group instead of the younger one, there's a reason why they are a 4 seed. Their 99's and 00's aren't the best. C. Really wide open, IMO. I'd lean Seattle, but I have no strong opinion on what happens with this group, partly because I don't think any of these teams are that good. D. There are two MLS teams here, but I think this goes to Pateodores. Holcomb and Amaya are going to be tough to beat. If Davies plays for Vancouver, I'd pick them to win the group, but I doubt that happens. I suspect it'll likely be one of those two teams. E. If FCD sends their MLS players here, I think they win. If not, it depends where NYCFC sends their best players. If they send them to the U-17 level, I think whether FCD uses their MLS players won't even matter. St. Louis FC probably won't win, but they could play spoiler between those two teams. They have some good players with Stiebel, Maher, etc. F. I think NYRB will win here, but will they include their first team players? I sometimes think their academy teams are well suited for a long season over the playoffs because they have depth in players, a good system, they seem well coached, but I often think their academy teams lack individual talent to win big games, so I wouldn't count out Columbus and SKC who have some good players. G. I actually don't know much about any of these teams. Looking at the rosters, I'd lean towards Crossfire because I recognize some names, but don't trust my opinion here. H. Three MLS teams, but I'd be surprised if this isn't Philly.
There are 32 playoff slots in each age group. 26 clubs qualified for both U17 and U19. That’s quite an amount of quality consolidation.
Interestingly.......................11 of those double qualifiers aren't MLS teams. There was, however, a notable power shift in the division that I keep track of. The 4 MLS teams (FCD, SKC, Houston, Colorado) were the 4 playoff teams in both age groups of the frontier division. I can't remember that happening before as the clubs like Dallas Texans, Houston Texans, Solar, etc. would go thru their bursts up the ranks. The MLS teams are doing a much better job of pilfering the elite talent from those non-MLS teams in Texas (see Chris Richards, Chris Cappis, etc.) Is this trend going to change next season? Not if the U15 results track. 3 of the top 4 in the U15 division are the MLS clubs. The once mighty Dallas Texans are strugg-a-ling. Two best teams in the country at the U15 level on a PPG basis were the Galaxy and FC Dallas. The rich are going to keep getting richer. The Galaxy, playing in one of the toughest divisions, had a GD of +88 over 29 games. Eeesh. By faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar the highest GD at that level. FCD had a +36 GD.
News: Toronto FC Academy joins the @ussoccer_acad TFC will field three teams (U-19, U-17, U-15) for upcoming 2018-19 season 📰: https://t.co/XVspZF4ZGD pic.twitter.com/M5jobPLamf— Toronto FC Academy (@tfcacademy) June 7, 2018
A couple of good reads on the Sounders young S2 signings and the progress of the Academy. https://www.soundersfc.com/post/201...emy-200102-class-paving-way-future-age-groups https://www.soundersfc.com/post/2018/06/07/path-2-pro-marlon-vargas
Leading scorers in U-13 DA: 1. Luke Van Heukelum-52 in 26 ('05 Sockers FC) 2. Christopher Thaggard-48 in 24 ('05 ISL FC) 3. Dylan Tellado-43 in 23 ('05 San Jose Earthquakes) 4. Miles Mukherja Gehrig-36 in 21 ('05 San Diego Surf) 5. Isaac Espinal-34 in 27 ('05 DC United) 6. Winston Oziri-33 in 26 ('05 Bethesda SC) 7. Sebastian Carbajal Gonzalez-32 in 27 ('05 Santa Rosa United) 8. Martin Kwende Jr.-31 in 25 ('05 San Jose Earthquakes) 8. Jonathan Ruvalcaba-31 in 26 ('05 LA Galaxy) 8. Sam Sandler-31 in 26 ('05 Oakwood Soccer Club) 8. Aidan Vangelatos-31 in 28 ('05 Sacramento Republic) 8. Landon Hill-31 in 28 ('05 Crew SC) 8. Ryley Gibbs-31 in 29 ('05 St. Louis FC) 8. Chance Gray-31 in 29 ('05 Atlanta United) Leading scorers in U-14 DA: 1. Wyatt Borso-42 in 26 ('04 Sockers FC) 2. Diego Otoya-39 in 26 ('04 De Anza Force) 2. Jack Drabenstott-39 in 27 ('04 Cincinnati United Premier) 4. Jake Faul- 35 in 21 ('04 Seattle United) 5. Olawakorede Osundina-32 in 17 ('04 Crossfire Premier) 5. Joaquin Eisenberg-32 in 30 ('04 De Anza Force) 6. Mark Gonzalez-31 in 27 ('04 Santa Cruz Breakers) 7. Felipe Corral-30 in 24 ('04 Sockers FC) 7. Colin Griffith-30 in 27 ('04 Lehigh Valley United) 7. Dzenan Cerimagic 30 in 32 ('04 Southern Soccer Academy) Random Notes: Ezekiel Anderson ('05) from Colorado Rapids wasn't on either list, but his stats are very impressive. He scored 20 in 11 games for the U-13's, then moved up to the U-14's where he scored 8 in 3, so thats 28 goals in 14 games between two levels. He has some highlights listed on his Hudl page, he's much taller than everyone else (listed at 5'9), but he doesn't look like he's only taller than everyone else, might have some skill. Maybe he's a prospect to monitor. Micah Burton ('06) had 26 goals in 27 games for the U-13's of Minnesota United. The goal scoring numbers might not be that impressive, but considering he's already playing up a year, I think it is. No one else on his team scored more than 7 goals. Christian Torres ('04) at LA Galaxy U-14 is listed with 15 goals in 24 games. Not that impressive, but what would make it impressive is that he's listed as a defender. Scoring that many goals from defense is impressive. He also played 3 games for the U-15's. Nelson Pierre ('05) with the Philly Union academy played with the U-14's and U-15's this season. Didn't play any games in his game group. 12 in 13 games with the U-14's, 6 in 16 games with the U-15's. He only started 7 matches though with the U-15's, so some of those might've been brief appearances. Henok Anderson ('06) with New England Revolution split the season between the U-13's and U-14's. Only 1 goal, but he's a midfielder, and managed to play 16 games in an age group where the players are two years older than him. He's listed with Ethiopian Nationality. Cameron McMahon ('06) had 15 goals in 12 games for the Seacost United U-13's. Playing up a year and averaging over a goal per game is impressive. Juan Hurtado ('05) at Weston FC had 24 goals in 29 games for their U-14's, only starting 16 games. He's playing up a year, so 24 goals is an impressive return. He's listed with Venezuelan nationality.
The U-14 Academy FC Dallas squad is in Spain this weekend participating in the Wanda Cup with some of the best clubs in the world.📝 https://t.co/qcPEjhpODT pic.twitter.com/lxX2cPxizI— FC Dallas Youth (@FCDallasYouth) June 8, 2018 Games this weekend for FCD include Juventus and Liverpool. OOOF So far they've lost to Porto and beat a team from Turkey.
Looks like FCD beat Liverpool and drew with Juventus. Not so bad. This is Antonio Carrera, not Herrera. He was born in Pachuca, Mexico...….but has also been at USYNT camps. Next in line of the Sanchez, Gonzalez, Avilez Mexican-American keepers at FCD? Who knows. He's some years away. Congrats to Antonio Herrera, who was named GK of the Wanda Football Cup 2018 International Tournament for U-14s! pic.twitter.com/Gb3iSennhn— FC Dallas Youth (@FCDallasYouth) June 11, 2018
Then there's Dantouma Toure. Who as an '04 scored 7 goals in 12 for PDA's U17 team and 5 in 9 for their U19's. He turns 14 on Tuesday. Unless he can somehow get to Europe, would like to see him join an MLS academy like NYRB or Philly.
Not that it's indicative of anything really, but Toure guest-played with the Red Bulls in the U-16 Next Generation Trophy tournament hosted by Red Bull in Austria last summer. He was even top scorer at the tournament, I believe (though I'm presently having a hard time finding the highlight package I know I watched last year).