CARSON, Calif. -- U.S. U14 Boys National Team head coach Hugo Perez kept his undefeated streak alive on Saturday during the final scrimmages for the ’98 age group, but he was far from pleased with how his teams played.

“We did not play well,” Perez told TopDrawerSoccer.com about the first game on the day, which was a 2-1 win over Pateadores ‘97. “The ideas were there, the desire was there, but they fell into what I call over excessive dribbling with the ball.”

The coach went onto say the lack of ball movement between players resulted in many times when the U14 BNT would just dribble into a defender and have no idea what to do next.

“I guess they wanted to demonstrate more because it was the last game,” he continued. “I think that was one of the biggest causes as to why we didn’t play the way we usually play.”

Perez moves onto the ’99 age group this week, and the ’98 age group advances to the U15 BNT with the first anticipated camp to be held in October. 

U14 Boys National Team 2-1 Pateadores ‘97

Hugo Perez’s ‘A’ team scored twice on its first two shots of the game, and then held on for a 2-1 win against local club Pateadores in the first game on Saturday afternoon at the Home Depot Center.

Christian Pulisic (PA Classics) claimed the first goal with an absolute rocket from outside the box. The play started with Alejando Zendejas (FC Dallas) dribbling through the midfield and into the attacking third.

Zendejas left it for Joe Gallardo (Nomads) who was immediately swarmed by the Pateadores defense. The ball dropped back to Pulisic who ripped it into the far corner of the net from 20 yards out for the first goal of the game.

Ten minutes later, Gallardo netted a similar goal to double the lead. The U14s won the ball back in their defensive third. Defensive midfielder Eric Calvillo (Real So Cal) switched the point of attack with a gorgeous diagonal ball to Haji Wright (Galaxy Alliance).

The towering winger immediately took off with the ball in a dashing run forward. Wright spotted Gallardo at the top of the box with little pressure and hit a square ball onto the Nomads striker’s foot. Gallardo turned and hammered the ball into the far corner of the net.

Five minutes later, the U14s had their first setback of the game when center back Trey Vinson (D.C. United) went down with an injury. The injury was later described as a deep thigh bruise. Daniel Barbir (PDA) immediately replaced Vinson in a straight swap.

Despite the 2-0 lead at the break, there was little for the U14s to hang their hats on. The play for the most part was slow and lethargic. The ball movement was not up to the normal standard for this team.

The second half started with the same lazy play as the first. This time, Pateadores made the BNT pay for its mistake.

A careless square pass across the backline by a center back led to a breakaway and goal for Pateadores.

The BNT should have restored its two-goal advantage in the 54^th minute when Joshua Perez (Chivas USA) broke through the Pateadores defense. Lucas De La Torre (Nomads) picked out the Perez run down the right side of the field.

The Chivas USA starlet had the inside path on his mark, and De La Torre led him perfectly with the through ball. Perez’s mark tripped shortly before the ball arrived so the winger had plenty of time to size up his shot.

Perez hit it early and tried to bend it into the far post, but the effort lacked the curve and dribbled wide of the goal.

Pateadores had another chance before the final whistle, but nothing that truly threatened the U14s from claiming the win.

Notes:

George Braima (Columbus Crew), the captain of this team, could be the answer to a lot of the questions about the lack of center backs currently coming through the YNT pipeline. The Crew Academy defender is smart, composed, and athletic. His distribution needs to improve heading forward, but he shows all the attributes for a promising future.

Alejandro Zendejas (FC Dallas) was one of the few players to improve their stocks on Saturday. The Texan is tiny (5’1, 110) but very good on the ball and extremely difficult to dispossess. His activity off the ball (showing for the ball, and opening up channels) is the negative at this point.

In a camp without Elijah Rice (Chicago Magic PSG), Joe Gallardo put himself firmly in the picture for a starting spot with two strong showings in both games as the lone striker. The Nomads forward had the best first touch out of the forwards in camp last week.

Abraham Romero (LA Galaxy), the normal no. 1 keeper for this group, left camp early to play with LA Galaxy U15 at MLS Sum Cup in Seattle. Romero was a late addition to the roster after playing with the U17 Men’s National Team last week, so the early exit was planned well before hand. Many of the other U14 BNT players flew out of LA on Sunday to join their clubs in Seattle.

U14 BNT First Half Lineup: Kevin Silva (PDA); Alexis Velela (Nomads), George Braima (Columbus Crew), Trey Vinson (D.C. United), Hugo Arellano (Southbay Gunners); Eric Calvillo (Real So Cal), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics), Alejandro Zendejas (FC Dallas); Haji Wright (Galaxy Alliancce), Joe Gallardo (Nomads), Joshua Perez (Chivas USA)

U14 BNT Second Half Lineup: Andrew Verdi (FC Delco); Eric Calvillo (Real So Cal), George Braima (Columbus Crew), Daniel Barbir (PDA), Hugo Arellano (Southbay Gunners); Logan Panchot (St. Louis Scott Gallagher), Lucas De La Torre (Surf), Alejandro Zendejas (FC Dallas); Lagos Kunga (DDYSC), Sean Teixeira (New York Red Bulls), Joshua Perez (Chivas USA)

Substitutes:

Jonathan Navarro (De Anza Force) – 55’ for Perez

Goals:

Pulisic 10’ (Gallardo) 1-0

Gallardo 20’ (Wright) 2-0

Pateadores #5 42’ 2-1

 

Unofficial Stats: U14 BNT / Pats
Shots: 7 / 6
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 1 / 2

U.S. U14 BNT 0-0 Cal South ODP ‘97

Saturday evening’s fixture between the local ODP side and the second team of the U.S. U14 Boys National Team turned into the Edwyn Gutierrez (Pateadores) show.

The goalkeeper entered the fixture at half time and basically stood on his head for 40 minutes to keep a shutout for the BNT. Gutierrez ended the game with six saves and a number of other key interceptions on crosses and long passes into the box.

The 5’9 keeper from Santa Ana showed great athleticism on a number of blocks with diving one-handed efforts to palm away shots from a strong ODP group.

While the stats heavily favored ODP, the U14 BNT actually had the advantage in possession.

“To be honest, I was more pleased with the football that the second group played” head coach Hugo Perez said. “At least, they tried to move the ball. They did much better with that idea.”

The best scoring chance of the game came in the first half. Cal South ODP winger/attacking midfielder Dmitry Zhuravlev (Olimpica United FC) broke through the U14 BNT defense due to poor communication on an offside trap.

Zhuravlev went around goalkeeper Jesse Buffington, but lost his balance and hit his shot over the empty net.

The U14 BNT had some chances on net, but could not find that final pass to break down the ODP defense.

Notes:

Perez declined to single out any performances from over the week that stood out to him, but it was obvious that Isaiah Young (Penn Fusion) made a convincing argument he should be part of this group moving forward. The dynamic forward was the most dangerous player on the field for the ‘B’ group in both games this week. He is very quick in short bursts and smooth on the ball.

U14 BNT First Half Lineup: Jesse Buffington (St. Croix SC); Damian Hernandez (FC Dallas), Thomas McCabe (PDA), Juan Riley (Weston FC), Luka Prpa (North Shore United); Kyle Gurrieri (New York Red Bulls), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Clay Silvas (Almaden); Isaiah Young (Penn Fusion), Juan Manuel Albizar (Downtown SC Premier), Edwin Quiroz (Crescenta SC)

U14 BNT Second Half Lineup: Edwyn Gutierrez (Pateadores); Damian Hernandez (FC Dallas), Thomas McCabe (PDA), Juan Riley (Weston FC), Arturo Carrillo (Atletico Santa Rosa); Kyle Gurrieri (New York Red Bulls), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Luka Prpa (North Shore United); Isaiah Young (Penn Fusion), Juan Manuel Albizar (Downtown SC Premier), Edwin Quiroz (Crescenta SC)

Substitutes:

Alejandro Lopez (Santa Cruz Breakers), Qu’ran Thomas (Georgia United), Charles Wehan (United FC), Alexander Soto (TSF) – all entered in the 55th minute

Unofficial Stats: U14 BNT / Pats
Shots: 14 / 14
Shots on Goal: 4 / 7
Saves: 4 / 7
Corner Kicks: 10 / 4