Academy Action: 18s win, 16s fall short

On Saturday, the Revolution U-18s continued their winning ways, but the U-16s suffered their first loss of the season as the squads faced Charlotte Soccer Academy in the Revs’ first matches of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase, which is being held at Premier Sports Complex in Sarasota, Fla.

The 18s kept their unblemished record intact (3-0-0) with a 1-0 win.  After a scoreless first half, the Revolution broke through when Ramiro Osorio collected a Devin Devoy pass and sent it through to give the 18s the only goal they’d need in the 54th minute. Goalkeeper Tyler Zon returned to action and withstood an early Charlotte surge and kept the sheet clean to earn his first shutout of the season.

Shortly after the 18s concluded their match, the 16s stepped onto the pitch hoping to extend their unbeaten streak, but fell short with a 2-0 loss.  Without the services of Zachary Herivaux, who’d been named to one of the Development Academy select teams and was unavailable, the 16s struggled to find consistency on the attack. As a result, the Revs couldn’t find the form to respond to goals from Axel Rojas (31′) and Giovano Castro (66′) as their record dropped to 2-1-0 on the season.

Both squads return to action tomorrow, when they face Chicago Fire. The 18s match will kick off at 9am, while the opening whistle for the 16s will screech at 11:15am.