The kids in Toronto FC’s Academy squads continue to grind away with the winter approaching fast. Soon the confines of indoor soccer domes around the province will provide much needed respite from the perils of mother nature.

TFC-A’s U-13 squad opened November with a pair of friendlies against Chicago and Montreal’s U-13 outfits at the TFC Invitational.

Head coach Danny Dichio provided torontofc.ca with some thoughts on each contest.

Saturday November 1st – TFCA 1 – Chicago Fire 1

“An entertaining game of football was enlivened when Lucas Areco gave TFC an early lead in the 1st half after receiving a fantastic diagonal pass from defender Tysen Phillips. Areco Controlled the ball on his chest and then chipped the ball over the Chicago goalkeeper. The Fire equalized late on via a penalty kick after their player was brought down in the box.”

Sunday November 2nd – TFCA 2 – Montreal Impact 0

“It was another entertaining game between two sides who like to play football the correct way. Montreal were very organized defensively & hard to break down. TFC were patient in their play and after hitting the post in the 1st half & then the crossbar early in the 2nd half, they finally broke the deadlock with good play from John Sinopoli on the left who then crossed it in the box into the hard charging Antonio Carlini.

TFC continued to dominate and deservedly got their 2nd goal with a neat finish from Joe Mac.”

Meanwhile the Under-12 squad played in snowy conditions of their own against the Fire and Impact. All in all, it was a positive, if not cold, weekend for the kids.