FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s Under-16 and Under-18 Academy teams traveled south to Florida for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase last week. Each side played three games at the Showcase, which was held at Premier Sports Complex in Bradenton, Fla., with the U-18s going 1-0-2 while the U-16s were 0-2-1.
These were the final games of 2014 for the Revolution Academy, with all three teams returning to U.S. Soccer Development Academy action on March 7, 2015 when they host Seacoast United at Gillette Stadium.
UNDER-18s
The Under-18s kicked off their showcase with a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on November 29. After a goalless first half, the Revs went ahead in the 52nd minute when Aaron James (Amherst, Mass.) scored his second goal of the season. Revolution forward Amadu Kunateh (Lynn, Mass.), making his first start of the season after scoring 12 goals and recording eight assists in the 2013-14 season, played a ball over the Kansas City defense for James to run onto and lift over the onrushing goalkeeper, putting the Revs in front 1-0. Bill Sinibaldi (Plaistow, N.H.) made six saves in goal for the Revs to preserve his third shutout of the season.
The U-18s took on the Colorado Rapids the following day, playing to a goalless draw with their fellow MLS Academy side. Sinibaldi was again the standout performer, making multiple key saves on his way to posting his second consecutive shutout.
The U-18s wrapped up their showcase with an eight-goal thriller, tying with Solar Chelsea 4-4 on December 2. The Revs took a two-goal lead into the halftime break, following goals from Derek Blanchette (Scituate, R.I.) and team-leading scorer Chris Arling (Windham, N.H.). Blanchette gave his side the lead in the 22nd minute, picking up a pass from Matt Morana (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and floating a shot into the back of the net. The Revs doubled their lead nine minutes later when midfielder Dylan Mott (Andover, Mass.), who made his season debut in the win over Sporting Kansas City three days earlier, played a ball wide for Arling who beat his man and fired a shot through the goalkeeper’s legs to give the U-18s a 2-0 advantage.
Solar Chelsea came out strong in the second half and were level by the 60th minute through goals from Alfonso Ochoa in the 57th minute and Nathanael Rennhack three minutes later, tying the score at 2-2. However, the Revs pulled back in front just a minute later when Arling notched his second goal of the game and sixth of the season. A corner kick fell to John Wilkins (Natick, Mass.) on the left flank and he swung in a cross for Arling, who headed past the Solar goalkeeper, giving the Revs a 3-2 advantage. Four minutes later, it was 4-2 as Kunateh was played in behind the Solar Chelsea defense by Blanchette before scoring his first goal of the season to restore New England’s two-goal advantage at 4-2.
However, the Revs could not hold that lead as Caleb Smith cut the Revs lead to 4-3 in the 78th minute before Nathanael Rennhack snatched a point for Solar Chelsea, scoring in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time to see the game finish tied at 4-4.
UNDER-16s
The Under-16s began their showcase on November 30, tying 1-1 with fellow MLS Academy side FC Dallas. It was the Texas-based side that took the lead in the 39th minute, with Giovanni Montesdeoca finding the net. The Revolution pulled level seven minutes after halftime as team-leading scorer Andrew Barrowman (Marshfield, Mass.) notched his fifth goal of the season. Isaac Angking (Providence, R.I.) started the move, finding Justin Rennicks (South Hamilton, Mass.) out on the flank and allowing Rennicks to play the ball across the face of the Dallas goal for Barrowman to score and tie the game at 1-1. Revs defender Matt Ranieri (Natick, Mass.) made his season debut during the game, starting and playing 90 minutes in the defense.
The U-16s faced another MLS Academy side the following day, suffering a 2-0 defeat to the LA Galaxy. Both goals came in the second half as Colin Apel buried a penalty kick in the 53rd minute before Kevin Negrete gave the Galaxy a 2-0 lead with two minutes remaining in the contest. Revolution goalkeeper Eddie Walsh (Westwood, Mass.) made five saves in the loss, while the rest of his team struggled to create chances at the other end.
The U-16s again conceded a late goal in the final game of their showcase, falling 2-1 against the Capital Area RailHawks Academy on December 3. The Revs went in front early in the second half when Max Diamond (Hopedale, Mass.) played the ball inside the area to Rennicks, who dribbled at the defense and fired a shot beyond the CASL goalkeeper for his first goal of the season. Undeterred, CASL fought back and found an equalizer in the 56th minute through Ryan Spaulding. With the game seemingly heading for a draw after Revs goalkeeper Walsh had made six saves, Joshua Coan scored the game-winning goal in the 78th minute earning CASL a 2-1 win.
New England Revolution U-18s vs. Sporting Kansas City U-18s
Saturday, November 29, 2014 – Bradenton, Fla. (Premier Sports Complex)
Revolution 1, Kansas City 0
Scoring Summary:
NE – Aaron James 2 (Amadu Kunateh 1) 52’
New England Revolution: Bill Sinibaldi; Ben Waithe, Guy Kabala, Matt Morana, Derek Blanchette; John Wilkins (TJ Soehn 65’), Zach Herivaux ©, Chris Arling (Dylan Mott 70’), Daniel Rovira, Aaron James (Bryant Nardizzi 60’); Amadu Kunateh (Eddie Venta-Yepes 70’)
Unused Substitutes: Omar Castro
Misconduct Summary:
None
New England Revolution U-18s vs. Colorado Rapids U-18s
Sunday, November 30, 2014 – Bradenton, Fla. (Premier Sports Complex)
Revolution 0, Colorado 0
Scoring Summary:
None
New England Revolution: Bill Sinibaldi;, Ben Waithe, Guy Kabala, Matt Morana, John Wilkins; TJ Soehn (Daniel Rovira 60’), Derek Blanchette (Aaron James 60’), Zach Herivaux ©, Eddie Venta-Yepes, Dylan Mott (Chris Arling 75’), Bryant Nardizzi (Amadu Kunateh 37’)
Unused Substitutes: Omar Castro
Misconduct Summary:
None
New England Revolution U-18s vs. Solar Chelsea SC U-18s
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 – Bradenton, Fla. (Premier Sports Complex)
Revolution 4, Solar Chelsea 4
Scoring Summary:
NE – Derek Blanchette 1 (Matt Morana 1) 22’
NE – Chris Arling 5 (Dylan Mott 1) 31’
SC – Alfonso Ochoa 57’
SC – Nathanael Rennhack 60’
NE – Chris Arling 6 (John Wilkins 3) 61’
NE – Amadu Kunateh 1 (Derek Blanchette 2) 65’
SC – Caleb Smith 78’
SC – Nathanael Rennhack 94+
New England Revolution: Bill Sinibaldi; Ben Waithe, Guy Kabala, Matt Morana, Derek Blanchette; TJ Soehn (Eddie Venta-Yepes 65’ (Bryant Nardizzi 85’)), Chris Arling, Daniel Rovira (John Wilkins 45’), Zach Herivaux ©, Dylan Mott; Amadu Kunateh (Aaron James 75’)
Unused Substitutes: Omar Castro
Misconduct Summary:
SC – Garrett Garwood (Yellow Card) 45’
SC – Alfonso Ochoa (Yellow Card) 45’
New England Revolution U-16s vs. FC Dallas U-16s
Sunday, November 30, 2014 – Bradenton, Fla. (Premier Sports Complex)
Revolution 1, FC Dallas 1
Scoring Summary:
FCD – Giovanni Montesdeoca 39’
NE – Andrew Barrowman 5 (Justin Rennicks 4) 52’
New England Revolution: Trey Miller; Matt Ranieri, Nick Woodruff, Calvin Aroh, Travis van Brewer; Max Diamond, Isaac Angking (Alex Shterenberg 70’), Santi Cardona (Kevin Vang 41’); Izaiah Jennings (Isaque Couto 58’), Andrew Barrowman, Justin Rennicks (Alex Clarke 58’)
Unused Substitutes: Eddie Walsh, Connor Haskell, Joe Brito, Tyler Freitas, Amos Thompson-Shapiro, Gustavo Cassemiro
Misconduct Summary:
None
New England Revolution U-16s vs. LA Galaxy U-16s
Monday, December 1, 2014 – Bradenton, Fla. (Premier Sports Complex)
Galaxy 2, Revolution 0
Scoring Summary:
LA – Colin Apel (Penalty Kick) 53’
LA – Kevin Negrete 78’
New England Revolution: Eddie Walsh; Matt Ranieri, Nick Woodruff, Calvin Aroh, Connor Haskell; Max Diamond © (Tyler Freitas 70’), Alex Shterenberg (Kevin Vang 65’), Amos Thompson-Shapiro (Isaac Angking 48’), Joe Brito (Izaiah Jennings 41’); Alex Clarke, Isaque Couto (Andrew Barrowman 41’)
Unused Substitutes: Bill Sinibaldi, Travis van Brewer
Misconduct Summary:
LA – Sam Hefter (Yellow Card) 2’
LA – Salvador Segura (Yellow Card) 68’
LA – Kosuke Ide (Yellow Card) 71’
LA – Eric Lopez (Yellow Card) 73’
NE – Nick Woodruff (Yellow Card) 80’
New England Revolution U-16s vs. Capital Area Railhawks Academy U-16s
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 – Bradenton, Fla. (Premier Sports Complex)
CASL 2, Revolution 1
Scoring Summary:
NE – Justin Rennicks 1 (Max Diamond 1) 43’
CR – Ryan Spaulding 56’
CR – Joshua Coan 78’
New England Revolution: Eddie Walsh; Travis van Brewer, Nick Woodruff, Calvin Aroh, Daniel Jones (Tyler Freitas 41’); Max Diamond (Isaac Angking 55’), Alex Shterenberg, Matt Ranieri (Alex Clarke 60’); Justin Rennicks (Isaque Couto 63’), Izaiah Jennings, Andrew Barrowman (Gustavo Cassemiro 55’)
Unused Substitutes: Amos Thompson-Shapiro, Kevin Vang
Misconduct Summary:
CR – Aiden Foster (Yellow Card) 46’
NE – Justin Rennicks (Yellow Card) 60’
