The Cleveland United U15 boys kicked off the fall season with a trip to suburban Baltimore to take on some of the best talent in Maryland and Virginia in the OBGC Capital Cup. In the first match, the boys took on Future Monarchs from Maryland and got off to a quick start with Jacob Bergin almost putting home the first goal within the first couple of minutes. United dominated play in the first half and got their first break when Josh Ray was fouled in the box to give us a penalty. Cole Parete stepped up and calmly slotted it in the side netting to give United a 1-0 edge. Before the halftime whistle, Eriq Hacker put home the 2nd goal with a nice finish off of a set play. The second half was back and forth but ultimately, the boys held off pressure with good defense and a dominant possession in the midfield to seal the 2-0 win.

The second match on Saturday was a physical test against Arlington SA from Virginia. United again started quickly with a high press that immediately put Arlington under pressure. Cole Parete started the scoring with a one time volley off of a cross from Connor Hain. The remainder of the first half was a tight match with some good opportunities on goal but nothing in the back of the net. However, after halftime, the boys turned it on. After some tenacious pressing on Arlington's back line, Ethan Sier converted a well earned goal to make it 2-0. Dominating possession from that point forward, Josh Ray finished the match with 2 goals to bring the final tally to 4-0. 

The third group game was a matchup against the GotSoccer 7th ranked team in the nation, Takoma Park Friends United. In an intense match with excellent effort all around the field, United held Takoma Park in check. The best chances came from United in the first half at the foot of Stefan Dobrijevic. Throughout the match, Weston Mansier, Cullen Reutter, Steven Samuelson and Josh Ray held out the Takoma Park attack while Ryan Miller made several key saves in goal to keep the match scoreless. Both sides pressed hard in the 2nd half and a goal line save by Connor Hain in the final minutes off of a corner preserved the tie putting both teams through to the semi-finals out of the group. 

In the semi-finals, United faced Brausa United Futebol from Maryland (currently ranked 14th in the nation by GotSoccer). Brausa started off strong, maintaining possession and moving the ball well, but couldn’t break through our back line. The boys held their own and then began to get some rhythm with about 10 minutes left in the first half creating a few chances. Brausa proved too strong for United on this day, though, winning 4-0 before winning the tournament on Labor Day 5-0 against Takoma Park. 

It was a great start to the year as the boys took on some highly ranked teams and performed well. As the team continues to improve and gel, we’re sure to see them competing against the best and succeeding the rest of the year.