Development Academy: Richmond Kickers, Strikers split pair of games

By Jimmy LaRoue

In a crosstown rivalry over the weekend, the Richmond Strikers and the Richmond Kickers split a pair of games, with the Strikers winning the U-16 matchup, and the Kickers U-18s pulling out a win.

The Strikers, with goals from Brendan Moyers in the fifth minute and Jesus Duran-Reyes in the 20th minute, defeated the Kickers 2-0, while the Kickers, led by bookend goals from Finnlay Wyatt, defeated the Strikers 4-0 in the U-18 match.

Vaughn Fowler (52nd minute) and Tyler Slayton (64th minute) also scored second half goals for the Kickers. Wyatt opened the scoring in the 18th minute, and closed out the scoring in the 78th minute.

D.C. United’s academy teams both moved to 2-0-0 with wins over Virginia Rush, as both of the Virginia Beach-based teams fell to 0-2-0. United’s U-16s scored three goals within the first 20 minutes, including two goals in the first 10 minutes, to control the match. Gerson Umana opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and Michael Monahan doubled United’s lead in the eighth minute. Justin Roberts added another goal for United in the 19th minute.

In the U-18 matchup, Kennedy O’Shea scored twice in the first 25 minutes, and Rafael Fagundo added another for United to race out to a 3-0 lead by halftime. Rush closed the lead to 3-1 on a goal from Mason Duke in the 52nd minute, but James Moreno and Jorge Calix iced the match with goals in the last 15 minutes of the match.

Baltimore Bays Chelsea’s U-16s and U-18s also went to 2-0-0 with wins over FC DELCO. Abdalla Bangura scored his second goal of the season for the U-16s in the win, another 1-0 decision. The U-18s, meanwhile, got their second and third goals of the season from Yaw Amankwa, as well as goals from Patrick Koscher and Angus Maloney in the 4-0 win.

McLean Youth Soccer’s U-16s fell to Match Fit Chelsea 2-1. McLean went up on a goal from Cody Sweatte in the 27th minute, but Tarek Fayed got the first of his two goals in the 32nd minute, and then scored what proved to be the match-winner in the 47th minute. McLean’s U-18s had better success, winning 3-0.