The D.C. United reserves topped the United Soccer League's Harrisburg City Islanders 3-0 in a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon at the D.C. United Training Complex. Trialist Nicholas Addlery notched two goals and Fred added another in a game that saw the teams compete in two 40-minute halves.
United went up 1-0 in just the eighth minute when Kasali Yinka Casal collected the ball and weaved through the center of the park. The speedy midfielder fed Guy-Roland Kpene, who turned in the box and sent a cross through the six-yard box to the onrushing Addlery who had an easy finish from eight yards.
D.C. made it 2-0 in the 28th minute when Kpene threaded a pass behind the Harrisburg defense to Fred, who coolly slotted the ball past the Islanders' helpless goalkeeper.
United made a few changes in the second half and closed out the scoring 64th minute when Brad North sent a long ball across the field to Addlery, who found himself all alone moving towards goal. The forward calmly collected the ball and hit a bending shot with the outside of his right foot to the far post.
Wednesday's lineup: Jay Nolly (Shawn Crowe 40), Stephen deRoux, John Wilson, Devon McTavish (KiKi Willis 40), Kasali Yinka Casal, Bryan Arguez, Justin Moose, Jamil Walker (Brad North 50), Fred (Marc Burch 40), Guy-Roland Kpene, Nicholas Addlery.
USC watches
Around 30 kids from United Soccer Club watched the game on Wednesday as a substitute for practice. USC trains twice a week at Barry Farms Recreation Center in southwest D.C., while a U-10 team competes in a league with Saturday games. The program is headed up by former United defender Judah Cooks.
First XI Luncheon
On Tuesday, fans and sponsors gathered at the Capitol Hill Hilton for the United for D.C. Fifth Annual First XI Charity Kick-off Luncheon. The fundraiser for United's non-profit arm was a great success as close to 200 people filled the Presidential Ballroom to hear United's co-managing partners Victor MacFarlane and Will Chang speak about their first few months as owners of the club. Both spoke of the importance of continuing to fulfill United's mission statement of winning championships and serving the community.
The event was emceed by the television 'voice of D.C. United' Dave Johnson and included and included comments from president and CEO Kevin Payne and head coach Tom Soehn. In addition to introducing the entire 2007 squad, Soehn spoke about the disappointment of losing in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and his goals for the rest of the year.
Media darlings
Ben Olsen and Bobby Boswell will make a number of appearances in the D.C. media leading up to Saturday's home opener vs. the Wizards. On Thursday morning at approximately 8:45 a.m. ET, Boswell will be on the air with The Junkies on 106.7 WJFK. Later in the day, Ben Olsen will be on NBC Channel 4 at 5:45 p.m. ET while Boswell will go on Comcast SportsNet's Washington Post Live with Russ Thaler and Dan Steinberg. The defender is set to go on air around 6 p.m. ET and will be giving away four tickets and four bobbyboswell.com t-shirts (read more here: http://www.bobbyboswell.com/contests/watch-washington-post-live-and-win. Finally, on Friday, Olsen will go on air with DC101's Elliot in the Morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Autographed jerseys
Beginning again following Saturday's match vs. Kansas City are the United for D.C. Man of the Match auctions. Following every D.C. United game, fans will have the opportunity to vote for the club's Man of the Match on the United Poll, presented by RCN, on dcunited.com. The winner of the poll will then autograph the jersey he wore in the game before it is auctioned off on MLSauctions. All proceeds from the auction will go to the community efforts of United for D.C. Keep an eye on dcunited.com for the first listing.
Stoichkov moves on
Former D.C. United midfielder Hristo Stoichkov has left his post as the head coach of the Bulgarian national team on Tuesday to take the top coaching job with Spain's Celta Vigo. Stoichkov had been with Bulgaria since 2004. He spent the 2003 season with the Black-and-Red, seeing time in 21 games (nine starts) and notching five goals and had five assists in just 901 minutes of play.
Trialist
Jamaican international Nicholas Addlery has joined D.C. United on trial this week. The forward was most recently with the Virginia Beach Mariners (United Soccer Leagues), but found himself without a team when it folded. Addlery played his college ball at California University in Pennsylvania.
