A recent trip to Chicago was a productive one for the Minnesota United Development Academy U13 and U14 teams as the two sides combined to go undefeated in four clean-sheet wins in four matches against their counterparts from the Chicago Fire and Campton United SC this past weekend.
MNUFC U13 at Chicago Fire
Tied at halftime, the U13s and Micah Burton took command in the second half against the Chicago Fire, scoring three goals en route to a 3-0 win in Saturday’s weekend-opening match. MNUFC got itself going just after the halftime whistle as Burton connected with Soloman Straub for the match’s first goal in the 39th minute. Burton got a goal of his own via a penalty kick in the 52nd minute before picking out Jarod Timlin in the 70th minute for his second assist of the afternoon to round out the scoring.
MNUFC U14 at Chicago Fire
After taking an early lead, a late goal salted away a 2-0 victory for the U14s over the Chicago Fire on Saturday. After the Fire committed a handball in the box, Cullen Connaker stepped up and converted the ensuing penalty kick to open the scoring in the 20th minute. With the Loons clinging to that 1-0 lead, Carlos Leatherman assisted Joseph Highfield in the 80th minute to wrap up the win in the match’s dying moments.
MNUFC U13 at Campton United SC
A pair of quick second half goals helped the U13s run away with a 3-0 win over Campton United SC on Sunday and close out the team's perfect weekend. MNUFC’s duo of Burton and Straub combined for the second time in two matches as Burton set up Straub in the 17th minute for an early 1-0 Loons lead. It was Straub’s second goal and Burton’s third assist on the weekend. MNUFC took control for good late in the second half with goals in the 62nd and 64th minutes from Drew Kalal and Nana-owusu Ababio, respectively — both of which were assisted by second half sub Dominick Vargas.
MNUFC U14 at Campton United SC
Two second half goals vaulted the U14s to a 2-0 triumph over Campton United SC on Sunday in the final game of the development academy’s undefeated weekend. After battling through a scoreless first stanza, Jacob Thao delivered MNUFC the match’s first lead just after the stroke of halftime in the 40th minute — putting back a free kick into the left side of the net. Thao followed up that effort with a through ball assist to Leatherman in the 77th minute that doubled the Loons’ advantage and sealed the win.
The U13s and U14s return home this weekend for matches against Crew SC Academy Wolves on Saturday, May 19 and against Vardar on Sunday, May 20. Kick-offs are 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday for the U13s and U14s, respectively. The full schedule for both programs can be found here.
MNUFC announced the trial dates for its Development Academy (DA) teams and assessment dates for the Pre-Development Academy program. Trials will be for U13 (2006), U14 (2005) and U15 (2004) DA teams, along with placement trials for the U11 (2008) and U12 (2007) Pre-Development Academy programs. All trials will be held at the Minnesota United Training Ground located at the National Sports Center in Blaine. Visit this link for more information.
