JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The New England Revolution Under-17 squad suffered a 4-2 loss to the K-Stars (Zambia) in its third and final group-stage game of the 2012 Future Champions Gauteng tournament on Wednesday, March 28.
The Revs scored early for the second consecutive game, when Casey Schehl (Bedford, N.H.) finished Erik Martel’s (Bedford, N.H.) cross from the right with a one-time volley in the sixth minute. The K-Stars replied in mere seconds, capitalizing on their first trip down the field after the restart to level the score at 1-1.
The K-Stars then went up a goal in the 13th minute, as Joseph Mukomena struck for the go-ahead goal.
New England looked to be the more dominant team for a stretch, stringing together passes and forcing the K-Stars to defend. The Revs then earned a free kick from the right, which Christian Sady (North Andover, Mass.) stood over just outside the penalty area. Sady placed his shot on target and found space past the K-Stars’ goalkeeper to level the score at 2-2 just before halftime.
On the other side of the break, Revolution substitutes began to inject new life into the game. Amadu Kunateh (Salem, Mass.) served a probing cross into the box in the 46th minute before tracking back to make a sliding goal-line clearance in the 47th minute. Despite his heroics, the K-Stars scored on the resulting corner kick to give them a 3-2 advantage.
Now on the front foot, the Zambians’ Mukomena scored again in the 52nd minute, ensuring the victory and first-place finish in the group for the K-Stars.
The Under-17s, now 0-2-1 in the tournament, finished second in Group A and will play two remaining games to compete for fifth-eighth place in the tournament. After a day of rest on Friday, the Revolution will face Aspire (Qatar) on Friday at 6:30 a.m. ET.
2012 Future Champions Gauteng
New England Revolution U17s vs. K-Stars U17s
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 – Soweto, South Africa (Nike Football Training Center)
K-Stars 4, Revolution 2
Scoring Summary:
NE – Casey Schehl (Erik Martel) 6
KS – Ackin Mumba 6
KS – Joseph Mukomena 13
NE – Christian Sady (unassisted) 29
KS – Albert Ngosa 48
KS – Joseph Mukomena 52
New England Revolution: David Hepp (GK), Erik Martel, Will Szostkiewicz, Matthew Cooper, Christian Sady, Zach Herivaux, Guy Kabala, Declan McCabe (Danny Apajee 42), Ryan Kingsley (Amadu Kunateh 31), Casey Schehl, Matthew Nyeayea (Kevin Herrera 58)
Unused substitutes: Matthew Mozynski (GK), Luke Albertini, Greg Forgue
Misconduct Summary:
None
