The U16 and U18 teams were in action at Centre Nutrilait against the BW Gottschee teams last Saturday. The U18s had won their only game of the season so far, while the U16s had two wins in two games.
BW Gottschee U18’s team had finished last USSDA season atop the standings with a 24-1-1 record, so the task was a big one for the Impact.
Nevertheless, the local team scored first, near the end of the first half. Mathieu Choinière shot a free kick towards Gabriel Balbinotti, who finished the action to give the lead to the Bleu-blanc-noir. But Gottschee equalized in the last minutes of the game to make it 1-1.
“The result is disappointing, but also logical, because we played against a really good Gottschee team that caused us problems,” said Impact U18 head coach Yoann Damet. “It was difficult for us to express our individual and collective qualities in this game, and that’s why we conceded the goal at the end. We must question ourselves with this result and identify what we can do better individually and collectively and reinforce the work done in the week of training.”
Conversely, the Impact U16 conceded the first goal of its game. The first half finished 2-0 in favour of the visitors. But the players came out of the locker room stronger after halftime, with Cédric Toussaint and Jean-Arnaud Tano scoring to tie the game.
“We had a first half below our abilities, where we were late on everything,” said Impact U16 head coach Nicolas Gagnon. “In the second half, it was much better. We increased the pace and put them in danger. Both goals that we scored also reflect how we played in the second half. The players that came in as substitutes made the difference once again.”
Both USSDA Impact teams are still undefeated this season. They will face Seacoast United on Saturday, October 1, at Centre Nutrilait. The U18s will play at 11am, while the U16 will follow at 1:30pm.
Note that the online registrations for the sport-études program tryouts are now open on the Academy website.
