Academy Notebook: GA Cup field set, alums announced for Reading United and more

Reading United made it all the way to the final of the Premier Development League final last summer and while several of the players from that team have moved on to the next level, two of the mainstays on the team will be returning this summer in Lamine Conte and Kalil ElMedkhar.

Conte and ElMedkhar will be joined by fellow Philadelphia Union Academy grad Jeremy Rafanello, who made one appearance for Reading last summer, in the rebranded USL League Two along with several other academy alums to be announced.

“We’re looking forward to having the lads back in,” United head coach Alan McCann said in a news release. “With Kalil and Lamine both coming off successful college seasons, we’re excited to get to work with them on and off the field, and help them continue to push towards the next level.”

ElMedkhar, of Middletown, Del., had 11 goals and 11 assists at Kentucky in the fall after tallying three goals and three assists with Reading. Conte, who will return for a third season with Reading, helped Louisville win an ACC Championship in his first season there after transferring from NAIA school the University of Mobile.

Generation Adidas Cup Finals Field Set

In other news this week, we learned who the opponents will be for the Union U17 and U15 teams when they travel to Frisco, Texas for the Generation adidas Cup finals later this month.

The U15s will play CF Monterrey, CD Guadalajara, Cruz Azul and Club Leon in the U15 finals. The top U.S. team will meet the top Liga MX team in the final after the four games.

The U17s will play Sporting Kansas City, CF Monterrey, UMF Fjolnir, Vancouver Whitecaps and Columbus Crew in the Premier Division.

More details are available on the MLS website.

College Commitments and a Steel FC Signing

Two current academy players from New Jersey both announced college commitments this week with U17 midfielder Julian Anderson, of Ocean, N.J., announcing a verbal commitment to the University of Virginia for 2020 and U19 forward MD Myers, of Delran, N.J., announcing a commitment to High Point University for this fall.

Union U19 forward Shanyder Borgelin was announced on Friday as the latest Bethlehem Steel FC pro signing.

FC Delco Derby

Tonny Temple had a brace and Jack de Vries, Axel Picazo, MD Myers and Leonardo Afonso all found the back of the net in a 6-1 win for the Union U19s over local rival FC Delco. Former Union Academy player James Simpson had the lone goal for FC Delco.

The U17s played to a scoreless draw. Chay Kaplan recorded the clean sheet for the Union and Alex Geczy for FC Delco.

Million Evans continued his goal-scoring ways with a brace to lead the U15s to a 5-0 win over FC Delco. Evans has doubled his goal-scoring output to six with three goals over his last three games. Quinn Sullivan, Anthony DeFillippo and Sawyer Koza also found the back of the net in the game.

Marcelo Mazzola had a brace and Nate Stewart added a goal for the Union U14s in their 3-1 win over FC Delco. Mazzola is second on the team with 15 goals behind Dominic Dubon’s 18. Dubon is currently away on an international trip. Sebastian Perez-Gasiba had the lone goal for FC Delco in the game.

A game report was not filed for the U13 game.

Up Next

The U19, U17, U15 and U13 teams all visit New York Red Bulls on Saturday. The U14s return to league play on April 28.