By Marie DeMars, NSC Media Intern
This blog is the third installment of a series introducing the teams of the PUMA vElite tournament. The vElite group aims to increase the caliber of competition at the USA Cup, and the teams are hand-picked and then invited to play during the USA Cup Weekend tournament.
Charlotte United 92 Gold has been playing in North Carolina since 1995 and is now the largest classic soccer club in that state. What sets them apart is their work on the finer points of soccer: Team leader Rob Dalton notes United has a history of producing “technically good college players.”
The team may be on sound footing technically, but Dalton knows that the style of play depends on what the players bring to the field each game. When I asked him in an e-mail to give a short description of his team’s style, he joked: “That depends upon which 92 Gold team decides to turn up that day!” Overall, he wrote, the players have developed a great ability to play on the counter attack, and they try to play the ball on the ground.
Even a non-soccer girl like me can see the United will be tough to beat. Check out their wins this season: undefeated at Disney, Jefferson, Mathews Invitational and Julian Brown. But that’s not the only reason to head out to their games. Dalton said in his e-mail this will be a brand new 92 Gold team, as several of the season’s starters moved on to play at the USSF Development Academy.
The team will also include four U15 players competing in U16 for the first time at the tournament. “This will be the very first time these guys have played together … keep your fingers crossed,” Dalton said.
Will the younger guys find their groove? Will the new starters start it out right? Come to their games and find out!
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