Minnesota United’s Development Academy teams kicked off their inaugural season this past weekend with matches against Campton United SC and Cincinnati United Premier at the National Sports Center in Blaine. It was a big moment for the organization as the U13 and U14 teams played their first ever matches on Saturday and won both in resounding fashion to begin their histories on a high note.
MNUFC U13 vs. Campton United SC U13
On Saturday, the U13 teams kicked off at 9:30 a.m. and the Loons opened their account early with Micah Burton scoring four times in the first 26 minutes. Drew Kalal rang one up in the 29th minute and David Hernandez tacked on another in the 31st minute to give the home team a 6-0 lead going into the break. Hernandez added one more in the 61st minute for an authoritative 7-0 win to begin the season.
MNUFC U14 vs. Campton United SC U14
The U14 team followed at 11:30 a.m. in much the same fashion, with Ryan Mahabadi getting things going early with a pair of goals in the seventh and 13th minutes for an early 2-0 lead. He struck again in the 32nd minute for the hat trick and a 3-0 lead heading into the break. From there, the Loons opened it up with a goal for Carlos Leatherman in the 49th minute and a hat trick in quick succession for Daniel Lainsbury, who scored in the 57th, 60th and 62nd minute to put an emphatic exclamation mark on another 7-0 win.
MNUFC U13 vs. Cincinnati United Premier U13
On Sunday, the squads once again had parallel matches against Cincinnati United Premier. In the day’s first action, the U13s fell behind early on a pair of goals by Bennett Gerak and Sterling Segal, but Micah Burton was there to level the match at 2-2 with a brace. In the end, the teams would have to share the points.
MNUFC U14 vs. Cincinnati United Premier U14
The U14s had a similar result, although in their match, the two teams traded goals with the Loons’ Jacob Thao getting the scoring started in the 25th minute, only for Cincinnati’s Jack Drabenstott to answer in the 31st. Minnesota United’s Daniel Lainsbury put the home team back on top with a goal just before the half, but Joseph Tanner drew the teams level again with a goal in the 56th minute. As it was with the U13s, each team had to settle for a point.
The Development Academy teams return to action next weekend with a pair of away matches against Crew SC Academy Wolves on Saturday, September 16 and then another pair against Vardar on Sunday, September 17. For more info, check the full schedule here.
