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+---- Thread: Rookies in Review: Montreal United (/showthread.php?tid=6161)
Rookies in Review: Montreal United - RAmenAmen - 2025-01-26
With S18 in the books, it’s time to look back at the key organizational additions made by Montreal United and the impact they had on the team’s unexpected rise this season.
The Season
![[Image: 62v80kU.png]](https://i.imgur.com/62v80kU.png)
Despite a mid-table expectation, Montreal United charged to a strong 2nd place finish this season, winning 9 games and picking up a draw to sit comfortably in between North Shore and Seoul with 28 points. Their strong 14 goal differential was led by the league’s 2nd best scoring offense and 3rd best defense, netting 43 goals this season and allowing just 29.
Preseason kicked off slowly, with Montreal playing a close 1-2 loss to Seoul MFC, then drawing Cairo 1-1. With the rust shaken off, they turned their focus to the regular season, opening the real season with a dominant 4-1 win over Inter London. The offense stayed in great form as the young team completed another win over Cairo, this time 4-2, then turned their attention to the cup draw and the group of death.
Cup play started off optimistic, as the minors squad would force a 3-3 draw with majors squad Tokyo S.C. While the cup run wouldn’t last, it was around this point that it became clear that Montreal had a real shot at a great season, holding their own against a much stronger team through the power of superior planning and tactics. When league games resumed, they would draw eventual champion North Shore United 4-4 in a high scoring affair, before dropping their first game of the season to AS Paris, 3-1, and then another to A.C. Romana in their next cup match, 0-2.
Montreal would bounce back though, netting a 3-2 victory over F.C. Kaapstad. A pair of losses would follow, to Seoul in league play and then Athenai F.C. in a game that would eliminate them from cup contention. When they next played Athenai, it would be the highest scoring game of the season, a 8-6 victory where defenders were nowhere to be found.
The rest of the season would see Montreal drop two more losses before rallying for a 5 game winning streak, including another against North Shore to comfortably claim the 2nd place spot. Fans and players alike would look back to the slow start and ask themselves what the team could have done if they’d found their groove early, but the growth of the team speaks to the youth program developing strong players and preparing the organization for long term success.
Montreal made a big splash in the S18 draft, adding a whopping 5 rookies to the young core. Let’s take a look at how they did:
Aleksandr Skovgaard (CM)
In just 9 appearances in his rookie season, the oldest of the Skovgaard quartet established himself as a long range shooting threat, scoring 8 goals on just 12 shots on target, good enough for 8th in the minors. He also finished 9th in the league with a 7.33 average rating.
Dina Skovgaard (RD)
Playing 12.5 matches, the youngest of the Skovgaards finished 8th in the league with 30 dribbles, and 7th with 38 interceptions. Additional highlights included 20 key passes and 10 successful crosses, as well as 3 goals.
Sam Volta (RM)
The speedy offensive rookie finished 7th in the league with 42 key passes, and 9th with 16 successful crosses. 5 goals and 3 assists generated plenty of offense for the team, and those numbers should only improve as he grows.
Zoe Clarke (LWB)
The left side of what could be a growing wing back duo played a much more conservative but defensively sound game than Dina. 92 progressive passes was good for 7th in the league, and she was the team’s 3rd best passer, completing 87.66% of her passing attempts. Leading the team with 26 clearances was crucial to keeping that top notch defense in place.
Maggie Sinclair (ST)
Limited minutes led to lower stats for Sinclair, but she made the most of her 7 appearances, still notching 4 goals and 18 dribbles, tied for 5th on the team. On a spicier note, she managed 3rd on the team in fouls with 16!
Montreal is a team looking at the future, not the present, but even a giant rookie class didn’t keep them from shining this season, and the future looks to be a bright one!