D.C. United Youth Academy places sixth at AEGON Future Cup

Washington, D.C. (April 25, 2011) - The D.C. United Youth Academy Under-17 team earned sixth place in the prestigious 2011 AEGON Future Cup in Amsterdam over the past weekend, as Patrick Foss scored four goals to earn the tournament’s Golden Boot award.


The squad managed a 1-3-0 record, but gained valuable experience playing against a some of the top youth academies in the world, including Bayern Munich, Ajax Cape Town, and tournament champion, RSC Anderlecht.

After days of anticipation for the event to commence, the Black-and-Red overcame early nerves to defeat China’s U-17 side on Saturday, April 23, by a score of 3-2. Foss tallied a hat trick in the contest, with Jalen Robinson earning an assist on the second strike.

In the second round of group play, United played admirably against eventual tournament champion RSC Anderlecht, but fell 1-0. The squad controlled the ball well as a unit with strong possession coming from the back in a narrow loss to the Belgian side.

Suli Dainkeh, Lars Eckenrode, Robinson, Foss, and backup goalkeeper Sam Legg all stood out for United as the first day came to a close. Legg stepped into net after starter Alec Dockser received a red card.

The Black-and-Red struggled on day two of the tournament, losing to Bayern Munich 4-1 in their first match of the day on Sunday, April 24. United played well, but the Black-and-Red were overmatched by the German Bundesliga club. Foss tallied the lone United goal, his fourth of tournament, by netting a penalty kick.

The Black-and-Red then lined up against Ajax Cape Town on Monday, April 25 as the tournament came to a close. The U-17’s appeared to run out of gas in their fourth match of the comeptitons as the South Africans emerged victorious, 4-0. With the sixth place finish, United finished ahead of Scotland’s Celtic FC and China’s U-17 National Team.