FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Following the completion of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s 2011-12 season, New England Revolution Under-18 Dominik Machado and Under-16 Christian Sady earned Development Academy’s Eastern Conference Starting XI honors for their respective age groups, honoring them as some of the top players in the 19-team Conference.
During the 2011-12 season, Sady made 23 overall appearances, including 21 starts: 16 appearances (15 starts) for the Under-16 team and seven appearances (six starts) for the Under-18 team. He scored one goal with the U18s and added five assists with the U16s. Sady is currently training with the Revolution reserve squad and is expected to rejoin the U18s in the fall.
Machado made 28 appearances, including 23 starts, with the Under-18 team during the 2011-12 season, scoring 11 goals and adding two assists. The midfielder has also made four appearances, including two starts, with the Revolution’s Reserve team as of July 20, 2012, and has trained with the senior team sporadically throughout the summer months.
In addition, two Western New York-based Revolution Empire players – Alex Bono and Stefanos Stamoulacatos – received recognition, earning Eastern Conference Under-18 starting XI honors. The pair recently completed training stints with the Revolution senior team, which included 90-minute appearances in the MLS Reserve League match against the New York Red Bulls on July 8 at Gillette Stadium. Bono and Stamoulacatos are part of the U.S. Under-18 and Under-20 Youth National Team player pools, respectively, and both will be attending Syracuse University in the fall to play on the Orangemen's men's soccer team.
Entering its fifth season, the Revolution’s youth program is the only fully-funded youth soccer program in New England, and competes in the prestigious U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Qualified and talented players are accepted into the program without regard to their financial situation. All players’ needs and expenses related to soccer activities – training, facilities, equipment, uniforms, travel associated with competitions – are provided by the Revolution at no cost to the players or their families. In 2012, the both the Under-18s and Under-16s finished second in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference and advanced to the playoffs.
Additionally, the program expanded in 2012, adding Western New York's Empire United – now Revolution Empire – as an affiliate. Revolution Empire players are trained under the auspices and guidance of the Revolution's technical staff, and the program's players are afforded all of the same benefits as the Revolution's own Academy players, including training with the Revolution's first team, MLS Reserve League call-ups and the ability to be protected on the Revs' Homegrown list.
