Led by a brace from Dominic Mawing, the Minnesota United U13 Development Academy ran its unbeaten streak to four games and its winning streak to three with a two-goal, 4-2, win over the Minnesota Thunder Academy this past weekend in Richfield — highlighting a three-game slate for the trio of MNUFC Academy sides.
MNUFC U13 DA 4 – 2 Minnesota Thunder Academy
Minnesota got started quickly on Saturday and opened up a two-goal lead before going back and forth in the second half to close out its third straight victory. Sho Haggerty got things started in the second minute and Victor Espinoza doubled the advantage just after halftime in the 42nd minute. MTA cut into the lead in the 49th minute courtesy of Stanley Ooga, but Mawing promptly responded in the 51st minute. MNUFC and the Thunder traded goals in the 57th minute as Mawing and Jarol Quevedo Lima scored to round out the scoring and a two-goal win for Minnesota.
MNUFC U14 DA 0 – 1 Minnesota Thunder Academy
MNUFC fell behind early and was unable to recover, suffering a narrow one-goal loss to the Minnesota Thunder Academy on Saturday. The Thunder’s Liam Moreira provided the game’s only offense in the fifth minute, staking his side to a 1-0 lead it never relinquished. Minnesota pushed for an equalizer over the next 75-plus minutes, but was unable to break through on the score board as MTA kept the clean sheet to ensure Moreira’s early goal stood up as the game-winner.
MNUFC U15 DA 2 – 3 Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Despite their best efforts late, a back-and-forth affair with Shattuck-St. Mary’s did not swing the Loons’ way on Sunday. The two sides see-sawed in the opening half, with Shattuck’s Ezekiel Agyemang opening the scoring in the 18th minute only for Minnesota’s Cullen Connaker to respond via a penalty kick in the 20th minute. But Agyemang was undeterred and regained the lead for SSM in the 29th minute. After the half, Shattuck’s Andrew Oh pushed his side’s lead to two, 3-1, which proved to be the back-breaker for MNUFC. The Loons’ Morgan Olson cut the deficit to one, 3-2, in the 53rd minute but that was as close as Minnesota would come.
Up next for the U13 and U14 Development Academies is a trip to Waukegan, Illinois, for the 2018 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Central Regional Showcase, October 19–22. The U13 team will play the Dallas Texans and Sporting Kansas City on Friday, October 19 and the Houston Dynamo and San Antonio FC on Saturday, October 20. The U14 team will play Armada FC Pro Academy and Houston Dynamo on Sunday, October 21 and Tampa Bay Rowdies and Orlando City on Monday, October 22.
The U15 Development Academy returns to game action on Saturday, November 10 on the road against the Indiana Fire Academy in Westfield, Indiana. The full schedule for all three Development Academy sides can be found at MNUFC.com.
