FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Two New England Revolution Academy players – Under-16 goalkeeper Austin Aviza (Medway, Mass.) and Under-18 midfielder Zach Herivaux (Brookline, Mass.) – will join the Revolution’s first team next week in Tucson, Ariz., for part of its second preseason trip.
Aviza and Herivaux will be part of the team’s preseason roster that trains in Tucson while competing in the Desert Diamond Cup. They will be in Tucson from Saturday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 23, to coincide with Massachusetts’ school vacation week.
The pair will train daily with the senior team and will be available to play in the Desert Diamond Cup without jeopardizing their NCAA eligibility. The Desert Diamond Cup also features the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake, as well as the host FC Tucson (PDL). The tournament’s round-robin group games will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 19, Saturday, Feb. 22, and Wednesday, Feb. 26, before the championship and consolation games are played on Saturday, March 1.
“Both Austin and Zach have worked very hard and adapted well to the first-team environment during the past year when they’ve been asked to train with those players,” Director of Youth Development Bryan Scales said. “This is another valuable opportunity for them, and one which reinforces our development philosophy and the seamless connection between the Academy and first team.”
“Austin and Zach have already trained with the first team on multiple occasions, and this opportunity to join the team in Tucson has been well-earned,” Revolution general manager Michael Burns said. “Our goal for the Academy from the beginning has been to develop players for our first team and this opportunity is another step in that direction.”
Outside of regular training, the Revolution’s youth teams have a break from competition until early March, when they will continue their sixth season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The Under-14 team will resume play on Saturday, March 1, 2014, against BSC CT Academy in Bridgeport, Conn. The Under-18s and Under-16s kick off the spring portion of the schedule the following weekend at SUNY Purchase (Purchase, N.Y.), when all three teams take on Everton FC Westchester on Sunday, March 9.
