The U19 soccer team poses at a pre-season match. Photo provided.
This past weekend, both Northwood soccer sides traveled to Exton, PA. The U19 and the U17 teams played the weekend prior and won against Saint Andrews College – a prep school in Ontario – where the U19s enjoyed a 3-1 win and the U17s enjoyed a 2-1 win.
The U17s played first on Saturday and drew 1-1 with Woodstock Academy. An early goal from Diego Green ’25 wasn’t enough to hold onto the win. Woodstock threatened for the last 15 minutes of the first half and into the second. Woodstock scored midway through the second half. Northwood controlled the rest of the half and had some scoring chances but couldn’t find the net.
“We played a really good first half. A lot of concepts that we’ve been training were applied. We have to figure out how to manage second halves. It’s a combo of personnel, mental concentration, and stamina. That was our first competitive 90-minute game,” said Coach Jose Coss after the match on Saturday.
The second game was a 7-goal thriller. The Northwood U17s faced the Haverford Academy Varsity team. The boys took an early 3-0 lead with goals from Diogo Charraz ‘25, Said El Eyssami ‘26, and Noah Moodey ‘25. Just before the half ended, Haverford got a goal back off an error by the goalkeeper. A couple of minutes into the second half, Haverford scored another goal off a free kick. There were chances at both ends, but Haverford knotted the match up at three off a counterattack. The game was not complete, and with 10 minutes remaining, Jace Donawa ‘25 scored the winner to cap the scoring at 4-3 by beating his man and finishing cross-goal with his left foot.
“I think that we proved that we can score a lot of goals. We must manage games better and develop a more mature attitude when we are leading. We haven’t trailed a single game this season so far, and that will likely not change but yeah, those are the things to work on, and I’m looking forward to Albany,” said Coach Coss after Sunday’s match.
The first game for the U19s was not what you would call a barn burner. Against Spire Academy of Maryland, the boys thumped them 8-1 with goals from Mitch Baker ‘25 (5), Nico Cedeno ‘24 (2), and Koah Paye ‘25. The lone goal conceded was a penalty.
The second game the U19s faced Landon School. The entire game was a grind, and Northwood had 70% possession and a lot more quality chances, but the deadlock was never broken. The boys had a lot of chances inside the opposing box but couldn’t convert. The game ended 0-0 in what was a dominant Northwood performance.
“I’m happy with the team’s progress over the whole weekend in key areas of our team’s play. We moved the ball better as a team and improved our collective defensive efforts. The players showed strong character throughout the weekend, competing well throughout both matches. It’s good progress,” Coach Jon Moodey said.
Next weekend, both teams will travel to Albany for the NXT LVL Showcase.
