All three Academy sides were back in action last weekend, hosting rivals Shattuck-St. Mary’s and finding a mixed bag of results.

U18s

MNUFC 1 - 0 Shattuck-St. Mary’s

The U18s found their third unbeaten result in a row last weekend, prevailing over Shattuck-St. Mary’s 1-0. It’s a promising performance ahead of this Sunday’s matchup against Bavarian United. Coach Alex Morawiecki and his boys will continue to work hard and play hard ahead of matchups against Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids later this month.

U16s

MNUFC 0 - 3 Shattuck-St. Mary’s

Jamie Caroll-Rolfe’s U16s fell 0-3 to the visitors last weekend, still struggling to find the fine form that got them a big win over the SC Wave in late September. Going forward, they’ll take this brief series of losses in stride and seek a better result against Bavarian United this weekend.

U15s

MNUFC 2 - 2 Shattuck-St. Mary’s

After three weeks off, Amin Qasim’s U15 Academy side was more than ready to launch back into play. The 15s anticipated a tough match, and it took a second-half comeback by the Loons to reach an even scoreline on Saturday. Things started off slow for the home side, as they conceded from the first opportunity and struggled to hold the opposition back. They went into the break down 0-2.

The Loons’ second-half showing was a marked improvement. Despite not making any major tactical changes, they locked in on their game plan: break lines centrally, isolate and dominate one-on-one duels, and take advantage of runs in behind on the left. Their renewed focus was rewarded with a goal after Lorenzo Uribe brought a through ball to the endline and cut it back to Enzi Herrera Sanchez, who scored with a late run into the box. Though Qasim’s side had more chances in the second half, they also gave some up to the opponent, but keeper Teddy Eckert was ready to step up with some crucial saves that kept the visitors scoreless over the final forty-five. Jose Orta Ruiz drew a foul in the box and handed the penalty to Herrera Sanchez, who made it a brace from the spot and cemented the draw for the young Loons.

“They are still learning different lessons on each match day,” Qasim said, “and the lesson from this weekend was to be brave and solve problems collectively, which we will continue to grow as we go.”