FRISCO, TEXAS - You hate to think of 13-year olds being involved in an epic anything, but Monday’s Dallas Cup group stage match between NJSA Celtic and Solar SC was most definitely a titanic encounter.

Wayne Galloway’s New Jersey side prevailed by a 1-0 scoreline on the outlying fields at Pizza Hut Park, with Brandon Tetro providing the margin of victory with a brilliant individual goal in the 1st half. Kevin Smith’s Dallas area side had a multitude of chances to equalize in both halves, but could never quite break through.

As with all matches played here Monday, the wind was the dominating element. It was blowing to the south (end to end on most fields) at speeds ranging from 20 to 35 miles per hour. Galloway said learning how to adapt to severe conditions was a good lesson for his team.

“Usually you don’t take elements like this into the equation,” he said. “We try to do the right things with the kids. In this game we knew we had to stay compact and win those 50/50s. It’s part of learning the lesson. You have to take the elements into the equation. We did well at that today.”

NJSA had the wind at its back in the 1st half and played some nice soccer to go with it, but after Tetro’s goal midway through the half, it was Solar who started combining well and pressuring the NJSA goal.

Solar’s Sean Badger came close with one good run and shot, while Corey Cantor and Daniel Carmona also went close. Badger and Toriyama Asom also combined for an opportunity, but NJSA goalkeeper Evan Louro made a good save. Perhaps the best Solar opportunity came when Casey Eaton and Asom worked a good 1-2, but NJSA defender Kevin Politz delivered a vital clearing header. Kevin Kappock blocked a shot in the 6-yard box for the New Jersey side near the end of the half.

In the 2nd half,  NJSA’s Justin Yacovino showed some good skill on the ball, but Solar was pouring on the pressure and seemed certain to get a goal. Louro was on hand as needed and the entire New Jersey team was scrambling to put the Dallas-area players off as much as possible.  Zachary Stavrou and Daniel Carmona created some good chances for Solar, with Stavrou coming close on a 30-yard free kick rocket launch. Asom forced Louro into a diving save in the final minutes, but the whistle blew with NJSA still up 1-0.

Galloway said the team almost didn’t make it to Dallas.

“We had a couple of problems with numbers and almost didn’t come,” he said. “But we picked up a couple of players last month and I’m glad we did because the boys will be better for this experience.

NJSA Roster
Evan Louro (GK), Connor Hagen, Jake Areman, Brandon Tetro, Christopher McCormick, Tyler Pinho, Thomas Metzger, Dominick Ricci, Ryan Talbot, Kevin Politz, Connor Maki, Kevin Kappock, Justin Yacovino, Yannick Koffi, Riley Mills, Tyler Stowell

Solar SC Roster
Kyle Parks (GK), Omar Banales, Emerson John, Jordan Martin, Trey Pujats, Corey Cantor, Blake Stricker, Tony Powers, Casey Eaton, Toryima Asom, Hayden Smith, Sean Badger, Alan Winn, Antonio Aguilar, Zachary Stavrou, Daniel Carmona


Dallas Texans 5, FC DELCO Crunch 1

The only thing faster than the North Texas wind here Monday is the way Marcio Leite’s U13 Dallas Texans team came out of the blocks in their 5-1 win over Joan Feeney’s FC DELCO Crunch.

Ian Sadler led the offensive effort with a hat trick in the opening 15 minutes of the match. Sadler finished a pair of setups from attacking midfielder Emerson Hyndman and also put away a chance provided by Francisco Rodriguez. Texans made it 4-0 before the half when Hyndman intercepted a pass at midfield and immediately fed Christian Ramirez, who went on a 30-yard run before driving the ball home.

Erick Chapa, who scored five goals Sunday in a 6-0 win over English club Shevington FC, scored on a good individual effort in the 2nd half to make it 5-0. DELCO’s Anthony Liddy ended Zachary Jarrett’s shutout bid with a late goal for the Philadelphia-area side. Rodriguez was an effective ballwinner and tackler for Dallas.

DELCO plays LAFC Chelsea Tuesday, while Texans face the same side on Wednesday in their bid to reach the quarterfinals.