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U9 Black State Cup Champions Front L to R, Leo, Alexis, Flavio, Bryan, David, Danny Back L to R, Anthony, Victor, Nick, Coach Charlie, Emiliano, Andrew, Alfredo
This past Tuesday, U9 Black under the direction of Coach Charlie completed their 3 month campaign to capture the U9 State Cup title defeating Plainfield Freedom 3-1 at Olympic Park in Schaumburg. Under adverse conditions with steady showers, the team maintained a calm composure throughtout the game while facing a tight defensive stand from the opposing team.
The first half was marked by near-miss opportunities and a nil-nil half time tally. The deadlock was finally broken in the second half with a perfect PK strike from David Portugal after Plainfield commited a handball infraction in the box. After a tough own-goal during an attempted clearance from the defense, United quickly bounced back with 2 superb goals. The first came from Alfredo Guzman with a beautiful unassisted one-timer from outside the box. The other came after a nice assist from Anthony Markinich to Flavio Terrazas who finished after beating a defender and the keeper with nice moves.
This marks the first year that State Cup has been organized by US Club Soccer. Starting mid-April all games were played on a weekly basis amidst the regular NISL league season. The format is much like World Cup with qualifying games as part of the first phase. In qualifiers, CUFC U9 Black defeated Jambuc and FC Cicero to earn a trip to double elimination in the second phase of state cup. The team maintained an undefeated record with convincing victories over Sockers, Plainfield, Lemont and eventually Plainfield again who made it to the finals through the double elimination format.
Congratulations to Chicago United U9 Black, State Cup Champions!
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