The Dallas Cup proved to be quite the experience for the Boys’ Soccer teams. The Cup lived up to its reputation as the best soccer tournament in North America through difficult competition, talented players, and quality games across the board. Here is a recap of the Northwood’s performance in the 2021 Dallas Cup.
The U19 team featured the traditional Black Rock- Northwood squad, with a few guest players (Jai Bean/ South Kent ’21/ Duke ’25, Mohammed Seidu/ South Kent ’21/Marshall ’25, Ethan Prescott/ South Kent ’22, Aidan Marroquin/IHC ‘22, and Abdul Shakur/Millbrook ’21/Duke ’25) each bringing their own set of talents to the group. Guest players also posed the challenge of quick integration into the team, something the squad took on very well.
Game 1 for the U19s was against highly-touted FC Dallas. Class soccer was played on both sides and the match was tied at halftime. Northwood struck the post twice early in the second half, but gave up a goal with only minutes to go, losing the match 0-1.
The U19 squad at the 2021 Dallas Cup (Photo provided)
The loss to Dallas FC was painful, but it ultimately sparked the fire that would give the team a fantastic 4-1 victory over defending national champions, Solar 02 boys on goals goals by Luke Smith ’21, Alvaro Garcia Pascul ’21, Slater Loffredo ’21, and Abdul Shakur.
The team used this momentum to defeat Texas powerhouse, Capital City 6-0 in the final group match. Unfortunately, FC Dallas would go on to win their next two games as well, winning the group by accumulation of points. Black Rock showed character and a lot should be taken from the team’s gritty performance.
The U18 squad at the 2021 Dallas Cup.
The U18s similarly featured the same Black Rock- Northwood soccer team, with guest players, (Stefano Faillace, Andres Gordillo, Konrad Kyrsztoforski, Julian Vivas (all from IHC) and Mikey Hofstetter) joining the squad. The team started strong with a massive 3-0 win vs nationally-ranked Capital City on goals from Jeremy Tsang ‘22, Mikey Hofstetter, and Ben Guglielmetti ’22.
The next day the team unfortunately fell 3-1 to Manitou FC of Minnesota. The lone Northwood goal came from Liam Doyle ’22.
In the U18s final day of competition, the boys pulled out a 1-0 win against Falls Town FC from North Texas.
This left 3 of the 4 teams in Bracket F deadlocked at 6 points. Unfortunately, the tiebreak was goal differential, and Falls Town edged the Huskies by just one goal to advance. All of the U18s will get an opportunity to return the Dallas Cup next year and have the chance to seek redemption.
