Boys DA: March standouts in New England

Boston Bolts striker Nicolas Awada dribbles past a Beachside defender. (Burt Granofsky/New England Soccer Journal)

After a three-month hiatus, Development Academy soccer returned in early March for the region’s five clubs.

That meant over 200 players took to fields near and fear, suiting up for the New England Revolution, Boston Bolts, Oakwood SC, Beachside SC and Seacoast United.

As the unfolded, who stood out above the rest and turned heads? To answer that, New England Soccer Journal has highlighted key players from each team as wins stacked up, draws were settled and losses left a bitter taste.

The DA slate returns this weekend as New England’s teams look to strengthen their bid for a spot at this summer’s playoffs. Another event to keep an eye out for is the GA Cup, which the Revs will compete in less than two weeks from now.

New England Revolution

March was rather fruitful for the Revs U-19 team, which finished with a 3-0-1 record that included wins over fellow MLS academies Montreal Impact and New York City FC. The team is now in second place in the Northeast Division.

During that stretch, two Homegrown Players – midfielders Isaac Angking (Providence, R.I.) and Nicolas Firmino (Somerville, Mass.) – enjoyed prominent roles. Angking is now sidelined as he recovers from a knee operation, while Firmino went the full 90 against Montreal and NYCFC.

Otherwise, midfielder Trevor Burns (Southbor, Mass.) was especially strong with goals in three of four games. The son of Revs’ general manager Michael Burns is really coming on strong as of late, as is outside back and Vermont commit Tyler Freitas (North Attleboro, Mass.). Both have trained extensively with the first team.

For the U-17s, results were less promising – the squad went 1-2-1 as it faces an uphill battle in the Northeast Division. The only goals came from forward Andrew Serafino (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and midfielder Hikaru Fujiwara (Lexington, Mass.), as the team was blanked by NYCFC, Montreal and Beachside SC.

Despite that, the Revs continue to prove they have two solid goalkeepers at this age group in Nickolas Cardona (Roxbury, Mass) and Eliot Jones (New Britain, Conn.). Other staples of the group are midfielder Colby Quinones (Bedford, N.H.), midfielder Samuel White (Sterling, Mass.) outside back Zachary Sardi-Santos (Newton, Mass.)

Results are at less of a premium at the U-15 level, though a 1-2-1 mark through March is commendable. Several staples of the starting XI are midfielder Leonardo Domingo (Belmont, Mass.), defender Avery Palma (Plainville, Conn.) and forward Thaddeus Liquori (Westfield, Mass.).

Boston Bolts

Heading into the spring, hope within the Boston Bolts was that additions to the U-19 team would prompt steadier results. So far, the results are promising with that group going 1-0-2 through March, including an impressive 2-2 draw against Montreal.

The biggest impact has come from Nobles midfielder/forward Harry Roberts (Wellesley, Mass.), as Milton Academy midfielder Jermey Verley hasn’t played too much yet. The goal-scoring burden has been shouldered primarily by two holdovers from the fall: Bryant commit Nicolas Awada (Westford, Mass.) and Stonehill commit Aidan O’Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.). Each has scored twice.

A similar pattern has emerged for the Bolts’ U-17 team, which finished March 1-1-1. The group’s best result was a 2-1 win over the Montreal Impact, while it also drew 2-2 with Beachside – both at home.

Joseph Buck (Arlington, Mass.) continues to cement his place as one of the region’s top midfielders at his age group. He’s now up to a team-leading eight goals on the year. The same could be said for defender Ludovico Rollo (Boston, Mass.). He’s great in 1-on-1 situations and with the ball at his feet.

The Bolts’ U-15 team, near the top of the Northeast Division, finished March with a 2-2 record. They closed with wins over BW Gottschee and New York Cosmos to enter April on a high. The team has several standouts, though defender Henri Richter (Newton, Mass.) has arguably turned heads the most.

Oakwood SC

Save for a lopsided loss against New York City FC, March was a fruitful month for Oakwood’s U-19 team, as it closed with wins over FC Westchester and Virginia Development Academy.

That age group is loaded with Division 1-bound players, and it showed. Future St. Louis striker Evan Southern (Glastonbury, Conn.) pushed his team-leading goal total to 12, while junior Nathan Becher (Brooklyn, Conn.) looks like quite the attacking player himself. Other standouts from the group have been future James Madison left back Sloan Sullivan (Ellington, Conn.) and future New Hampshire midfielder Dylan Maxon.

Oakwood’s U-17 team started March on a high – they secured a 4-3 win over Cedar Stars Academy – Bergen – only for the month to end with three straight losses. As that unfolds, stalwarts from the group include forward Ronan Dillow, outside back Matiwos Rumley (Hebron, Conn.) and midfielder Ronan O’Brien (West Hartford, Conn.). They’re not out of the playoff picture, but a serious run is needed to snag a wild card spot.

Lastly, Oakwood’s U-15 team was a solid 2-1-1 last month. Up top, Ali Taleb has come on strong, scoring five of his seven goals this season across two matches. From the perspective of raw talent, the team’s best player is probably midfielder Pearse O’Brien (West Hartford, Conn.).

Beachside SC

Beachside’s U-17 group entered the spring within touching distance of first place in the Northeast Division, but has struggled to maintain that fervent pace. Through March, they went 1-2-1, with their sole win coming at home against the New England Revolution.

The group should rebound, especially with Yale commit Olivier Van Spaendonck (Westport, Conn.) leading the charge up top. The back line is led by Laurens Ten Cate (Westport, Conn.) and and Erik Quaintance (New Milford, Conn.), while key pieces in midfield are Liam Coffey, Phineas Callahan (Norwalk, Conn.) and Amel Sahic (Fairfield, Conn.). The trio offers some two-way play, bite and attacking intent to the heart of the field.

Meanwhile, Beachside’s U-19 team went a respectable 1-1-1 throughout March, with an impressive draw against the Revs and narrow (4-3) win over FC Westchester. Virginia Tech commit Alex Adjetey, also a prep school star at South Kent, has provided a much-needed boost out wide, while Princeton commit Ryan Winkler (Monroe, Conn.) has rediscovered his scoring touch some. They’re admirably captained by Notre Dame commit and center back Zachary Dedrick (Wilton, Conn.).

Lastly, Beachside’s U-15 squad went 3-1 throughout March and racked up a plus-three goal differential. Two players for the future with a goal-scoring touch look to be Dylan Medeiros and Maximo Rivano.

Seacoast United

March was rough for Seacoast’s U-19 team, as it lost both games to the New England Revolution and Montreal Impact by a combined 11-0 scoreline.

The group is simply outclassed against MLS academies, though perhaps a solution comes from springtime additions. Their biggest newcomers are future Boston College forward Duncan Sutherland (Millville, Mass.), future Harvard winger/outside back Galen Lewis (Leominster, Mass.) and future Holy Cross center back Tucker Williams (New Hampton, N.H.). Last fall, they respectively played for Brooks, Milton Academy and Kimball Union in the prep ranks.

The growing pains for head coach Keith Beaty‘s group could get smoothed over this weekend when hosting FC Delco, a club from the Philadelphia, Pa., area.

Seacoast’s U-17s went 0-2-1 in March. Solutions in the attacking third look most likely to come from either Marko Crnilovic or Jeremy Rodriguez (North Andover, Mass.).

Of Seacoast’s three older teams, their U-15s were the only one to win in March, as they knocked off Met Oval 2-1 on March 30. Richard Aman (Hanover, N.H.) scored and has been a constant in the starting lineup the past two seasons.

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