Welcome DCU U23s to the NPSL

Why would the U23s schedule their game on Saturday for the same time as the real team's game in Foxboro? Now I can't go see them. Poor planning. I'd like to see them, but can't do it.

JoeSoccerFan seemed to indicate that they forfeited their game against NJ for playing with an unregistered player ... any details out there anywhere? Not that there was any info about the actual game itself, even in that story United released yesterday......

 

What's the likelihood that any of these players gets called up directly to the senior squad? - Are players in Richmond more likely?

Would love to see these guys play, but Leesburg is awfully far out

 

I pass it on my way to RFK

 

Most of their games are saturdays - that will always be in the way with DCU first teams; but there are also a few exceptions, like the game vs NYRB U23 on June 28 (DCU plays June 27 in Toronto)

 

Typical DCU FO incompetence

 

yeah I saw that but it says about as much as my post above it asking what happened, basically nothing at all. Which player was unregistered and why weren't they considered registered? I assume they mean registered with the PDL as a member of the team. Which happens in lower leagues a lot at the beginning of seasons.

The whole thing seems weird, their first game was the 17th but their "news" story about the team and its schedule came out on the 19th after this game was played and perhaps after it was forfeited with no mention of the game at all.

 

Goff's blog today mentions the original score at least (1-1) but nothing else we don't know, but he linked to the Evergreen site and they have this interesting graphic insinuating that there is a friendly tonight. I may be able to head over and check that out, we'll see if I remember



the alcoholic beverages will be in my car

 

Well, that was an interesting game.
DCU won 2-0

I would not call it predominantly "good soccer" but there were moments.
Our #10 was fairly good, but small.
#17 was a pretty good defender.
#12 made the best off-the-ball runs in the second half - didn't always do the exact right thing with the ball, but you couldn't really complain, he was a bright spot in a field full of folks not that interested in making off the ball runs.
Our #31 was where offense went to die (played 2nd half),
#6 was professionally offside (played first half) - as he was on the first goal, which he scored, but the ref was in bad position.
Ref was also in bad position a little later when someone sent a great thru-ball to #14 who scored a nice legitimate goal that was whistled offside.
#15 was playing right back (I think) like NDL, mostly in the middle of the field on offense, he was frustrating, you could tell he had some ability but was so out of position at times it was painful. He had widthaphobia

I'll have to read up on PDL substitution rules, but I think we swapped out all but 3 players at halftime.
The second goal was scored in the second half on a PK after one of the Pikksburgh players handled the ball in the box for no good reason.
#25 slammed it home nicely - he was pretty damn big, but that was his main talent.

They had one good player, #9 - if he had had help the first half would have been much more interesting.
One of their players picked up a bad looking injury toward the end of the game defending a nice thru ball at the top of the box, two guys helped him off the field on one leg. Even with all the subs and the injury and some cards (their #15 should have had at least 2 yellows, got one and a stern talking to) there was no injury time.

Dave Kasper was there and said the team planned to have some decent presence out to watch them for future games. He was the only person there that I knew. It was a very small crowd.

The place was pretty nice for a church field out in the middle of nowhere. Nice stands with a big area to stand behind/above it where we stood at midfield, and it had an upper VIP level we didn't get to see.
They need a real scoreboard with lights, they had a tiny little scoreboard hidden near the far corner flag that you couldn't see by the end of the game.
They also need to work on their sound system, it was pretty weak, but the announcer was kinda funny when he did say stuff.
The food smelled fantastic and was decently priced - we had just eaten so didn't try anything, but we would have gotten the bacon popcorn on the menu online if it had been available There were other soccer and lacrosse games going on on other fields there too.

Lots of little kids running around. Evergreen FC kids walked out with United players at the start. The ball kids were good.

 

$10 for a PDL ticket isn't exactly cheap. Should be more like half of that.

 

So... have any DCU U-23 players ever played for the full team?
Or for any MLS team?

 

You only need 2 coaches from your staff to scout the games. Besides the stands, was there any structure high enough to give a good view of the field for video cameras?

 

The "stands" are the lowest point, there is a regular concrete concourse at the top of the stands and another (VIP-level) above that - either are plenty high enough.

I don't think video is a very good primary tool unless it's so wide-angle that you can't tell who individual players are, too much happens (or doesn't!) away from the ball to use video for much but a starting point or as an illustrator/teaching tool after you know what happened by seeing it with eyeballs.
But it is much better than nothing of course and that does not disagree with what you were saying

The team has like 4 coaches that I noticed. They were on the bench, DK and someone else were up top.

 

No, I think the goalkeeper Niedermeier (given that he's still with the club) may have been in one or two Kickers game possibly as a reserve goalkeeper. But I'm going by memory, so I could be wrong.

 

A reminder that there is a U-23 game in Leesburg tonight against some Pennsyltucky team. Only other game I saw them play was against a Pittsburgh team, perhaps they only play Pa teams

JoeSoccerFan tells me Reading is a decent team and the U-23s are on somewhat of a winning roll themselves according to their twitter feed. There is still really nothing at all even suggesting there is a U-23 team on the main team site, just the senior team and a bunch of academy teams. If it's there, it's hidden.

Me, gittnbizzee, and JSF will be there, anyone else?

 

Apparently I am internet-challenged and it was pointed out to me that the U-23 team is listed under both the Youth tab and under Academy/Pre-Academy off the schedules tab.

 

United's U23s host the NJ cancer-causing energy drink's U-23s on Sunday, fwiw

 

Somewhere out in Evergreen. Probably near Lincoln(ish)

 

Nah, it's way out by the Leesburg airport Or the LoCo Dump, whichever is a better landmark for you Way closer to DC than Lincoln.
We clocked it last time, it's just a smidge over 8 miles from the house (would likely be about 3-4 as the crow flies, but I don't know what internet mapping site gives that measurement)

 

cross-posted::

I think the U-23s were up 4-0 at halftime yesterday against someone, so they play a lot - but tonight they played the metros u23 team which looks to be mostly Academy players.
All much bigger than I've seen playing U23 before. Mostly I mean bulkier (like Jersey steroid bulky) but they had one guy who musta been 6'7" (#19?) (disclaimer: our guys were small, he could just looked that big, but skinny, lanky like Crouch)

We scored first, a little bit against the run of play, but not much - there was some weird play near our goal where balls bounced off hands and then players in black stopped playing and the bad guys didn't and boom, tie game. Pretty quickly after that, we stopped playing defense and were way shorter and slower anyway and we gave up 2 really easy goals to guys wide open between the defenders.
Halftime 1-3. Looked bleak.

They inserted a better defender and a much better def mid at half.
Got two late FK goals, one a well earned penalty where a dude embarrassed at least 3 jersey boys on the dribble. Tied it 3-3.

If you think DC's big team plays an ugly non-pass-completing style, you should see these guys

They offered me the first roster they ever have for this game, but most DC players listed on it were not playing so it was only so useful. Saw a new guy #40 that I hadn't seen before; nice hair, decent but erratic play.

District Ultras had a good little presence and lotsa smoke on the tying goal.

Great food at good prices.

 

According to this recap of the U-23's weekend I was off in my guess, that metro player is only 6'6" (he slouches, so if stretched properly he might be 6'7"-8")

http://www.blackandredunited.com/2015/6/29/8860051/dc-united-u23-recap-wild-weekend-undefeated-in-9