Yousef Diyab tossed another hat trick into the ring for the Earthquakes under-18 academy team.
His second three-goal output of the season came in a 4-0 win over the San Diego Surf on Saturday, and the U-18s followed with a 1-0 triumph over the Nomads SC on Sunday to take a three-point lead atop the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.
Playing without injured scoring leaders Amir Bashti and Zach Penner at the Mustang Soccer Complex, the U-18s needed other attackers to step forward. Diyab did just that, with gusto.
Diyab also had a hat trick in a 4-0 win over San Juan Soccer Club a month ago, doing all the damage in the second half from off the bench.
“He’s kind of a coach’s dream,” academy coach Stephen Wondolowski said of Diyab. “He just shows up every practice and works so hard and pushes guys like Amir and some of our national team guys. He’s one of those driving forces in practice every single day. He has a knack for scoring goals. He’s always been a goal scorer.”
Alex Valencia also had a big weekend, scoring the Quakes’ first goal against the Surf in the 25th minute. He also assisted on one of Diyab’s three goals.
Valencia also initiated the winner against Nomads; his corner kick ricocheted off a defender and went in for an own goal in the eighth minute. The Quakes just missed on a few other scoring chances in the 1-0 win.
U-18 goalkeeper Remi Pieur worked back-to-back shutouts, as the deep squad also competed without heralded keeper JT Marcinkowski, a Georgetown commit who was away participating in De La Salle High’s graduation.
“It was one of those weekends where we were missing a couple guys, but other guys just stepped up and it works out well that way,” Wondolowski said. “Remi did really well. Two shutouts is big.”
The Earthquakes U-16 team also had a productive weekend, rallying for a 1-1 tie against the San Diego Surf and beating the Nomads SC 2-0.
The Quakes created a bunch of chances in the first half against the Surf, but couldn’t score. After surrendering an early goal in the second half on a counter-attack, the Quakes tied it on John-Austin Ricks’ first goal of the season off a free kick by Kristoc Camacho.
Both U-16 goals against the Nomads came off corner kicks; the first was scored by Armon Ojuola off a Chris Grey assist; and the second goal came from Kaya Fabbretti on a follow-shot after a keeper save.
The Quakes work hard on set pieces – a popular method of producing goals at the higher levels.
“We always like to score on the run of play, but a lot of times, especially when you’re playing teams that put a lot of guys behind the ball, you have to be able to get the first goal,” Wondolowski said. “We practice our set pieces to get that first goal to open the game up, and then, hopefully, we can more chances from that. Set pieces are a big thing.”
The U-16s (15-10-6, 51 points) are in third place in the Northwest Division with two games remaining, and holding a playoff spot. The U-18s (21-7-3, 66 points) lead second-place Seattle by three points with two games remaining.
This is shaping up to be the most successful season in the Quakes academy’s short history, with the U-18 team poised to win the division title and the U-16s looking to lock up a playoff spot. The U-14s have also been on a success-filled, high-octane run all season.
