United U19 co-ed team plays well at State Cup

It may not have ended up being a three-peat for the Hi-Line United U19 soccer team, but they did end the season with another great run at the title.

Friday through Sunday, the United were in Great Falls for the Montana State Cup soccer tournament. And after claiming the title the last two seasons, the United finished up with a 1-2 record on the weekend.

But the weekend started off with a bang.

Friday, the United defeated No. 1 ranked Big Timber team 1-0. But then United suffered a tough 2-0 loss to Laurel Friday, as well as a 2-1 loss to Sidney Saturday.

“Our first game was against the No. 1 seed,” United head coach Briayan Flores said. “Our kids went into the game with complete confidence and won the match 1-0. It was amazing to see the maturity in such a young team this weekend. The kids played as a unit and showed trust in each other on the pitch.”

Second-year player Elijah David scored the lone goal against Big Timber, his biggest goal of his young career. And it was Trey Scofield who scored the lone goal against Sidney Saturday. It was a good showing by the United, and while they came short in the hunt for yet another title, it was still a great weekend for the young squad.

“Our second game (versus Laurel) had an unfortunate penalty against us, and we lost it in the last portion of the game,” Flores said. “Because of the results of the games, we went into Saturday in the semis against Sydney. It was a nail-biter, and I felt that we dominated possession during the majority of the match, but fell to a late goal on a free kick. This match was the best our team had played all season.

“We played our game and did not fall into what the other team was attempting to do on the pitch,” Flores added. Every match we had was tight and low scoring, which made for an amazing set of matches. We went further than expected in the tournament, and ended up placing third with a practically new and young team. This weekend proved what type of potential we have on the team, and with many returning next year, we hope to be a favorite and challenge for the title again.”

Big Timber did avenge their loss to the United, and did battle back for the No. 1 finish, defeating Sidney 4-0 on Sunday.