Restarting their season with a trip to Virginia, New Jersey club Players Development Academy cemented their status as one of the top dogs on the East Coast. 

Danny Barbir

Traveling to face Virginia Rush and the Richmond Kickers, PDA put in four dominant performances, outscoring the opposition by a 16-0 score across the four games at the U18 and U16 age groups. 

It all began with the U18s winning comfortably against the Virginia Rush, as Kazari Trought led a four-goal barrage in the second half on the way to a 5-0 win, while the U16s scored three times in the game’s final 20 minutes to win 4-0, including a pair of goals from U.S. U15 Boys National Team standout Daniel Barbir.

Not resting on their laurels for the weekend, PDA’s next stop in Richmond saw the U18s emerged with a 3-0 victory, while the U16s posted an identical 4-0 result over the Kickers.

East Conference

A week after a 10-0 score line occurred in the Academy, the New York Red Bulls took it upon themselves to bombard the back of the net 11 times against South Central Premier. Seven players scored on the day, with Dante Perez leading the scoring charts with four tallies. New York’s U18s also picked up a 2-1 win on the weekend.

A matchup between two regional rivals produced a pair of significant results. First, D.C. United U18s hung on to its slender lead to defeat the Baltimore Bays 3-2, despite United finishing down a man after Cristhyan Najar picked up a red card. However, the Bays U16 won 4-1, dealing D.C. its first loss of the season in Academy play.

West Conference

It was another successful trip to California for the Sounders Academy, as its two teams flew south once again to compete in Academy action. Saturday saw the team win a pair of games very comfortably, as both the U18s and U16s won 4-0 against Nomads SC. The following day, the U18s defeated San Diego Surf 2-0, though the U16s could only muster a 0-0 draw, denying the squad full points from the weekend.

Vancouver Whitecaps U18 forward Brody Huitema took his season tally to 21 with two goals over the weekend. His first secured a 1-1 draw for the Canadian club against Real So Cal, before he scored again in a 3-0 win against Arsenal FC. Vancouver’s U16s suffered a pair of defeats on the trip, losing 2-1 and 3-0 respectively.

An 84th minute goal from Edson Cardona provided De Anza Force with a surprise 2-1 win against the LA Galaxy. Galaxy forward Paul Arriola opened the scoring in the 24th minute, but his strike was canceled out by rising star Jason Romero, setting the table for the Force to snag the upset. The Force came out victorious in the U16 matchup as well, winning 2-0.

Central Conference

The Colorado Rush U18s picked up a 1-0 win over Classics Elite, as Cameron Mohseni nabbed the winner in the 58th minute. The U16s also secured three points, winning 2-0. The Rush capped off its Texas swing with a 0-0 draw and 3-1 win over Lonestar SC respectively.

Another team making a trip south was the Colorado Rapids. It was a mixed bag for the MLS Academy, as the U18s lost its opening game 2-0 against Texans SC, while the U16s also dropped a 1-0 result. Both sides bounced back on Sunday, as the U18s defeated Texas Rush 4-1 and the U16s won 2-1.

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