Super Y League Feature

Monday, December 14, 2015

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Chicago Inferno U13 Boys did not open the 2015 SYL North American Finals the way they wanted, starting group play with a draw.

As the event has progressed, though, the Inferno have gained more poise and have now earned three consecutive victories. Chicago took its semifinal in thrilling fashion Monday with Jesus Martinez heading home the winner in the second 10-minute overtime for a 1-0 victory against Met Oval at IMG Academy.

The win advances Chicago to the championship against West Pines United FC at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

“We started this tournament playing more on adrenaline and more defensive-minded than we would like to, and it seems like we have picked up confidence as the tournament went on,” Inferno Head Coach Dino Delevski said. “I feel that today’s game was a perfect showcase of the confidence that these guys carried in from the previous games. They were able to play the game that we desire to play from the start of the tournament. I was very happy that we were able to get the goal in the final minutes.”

Martinez’s winning header came from the left side of a crowded six-yard area. The Inferno earned a free kick to the far left side, and when neither team could control, Martinez cleaned up for the go-ahead score.

“In a game like this, it happens to always be an unexpected source that comes to provide the goal,” Delevski said. “[Martinez] doesn’t necessarily score headers for us, but he happened to be at the right place at the right time. It was a crowd in front of the goal and he showed great composure putting the ball in.”

Chicago’s defense collectively kept Met Oval’s top two scorers from the regular season – Abdul Seck and Niko Kapanadze – off the score sheet, which was an arduous task because much of the team’s offense appears to run through that duo.

“Defensively, they were organized very well,” Delevski said. “They defended with a minimum of 10 players all the time that were getting behind the ball. They were sacrificing part of their own game for the greater good of the team.”

For this particular Inferno team, many are experiencing their second straight SYL Finals but were unable to advance out of the group stage in 2014.

“The guys came here last season and ended up with two ties and a loss,” Delevski said. “Coming into this season, we set a goal to get out of the group, and we were able to squeeze in. As far as our organization goes, we had three teams here [this year], and both teams that weren’t in the semifinals happened to be here and experienced this atmosphere. It’s the memories that they’re going to bring back to Chicago, and it’s an opportunity for them to get a little more excited about next year when those two other teams come for the purpose of being on this side.”

SYL National Finals – Additional Semifinal Results (U12 to U13 Boys):
U13 Boys – West Pines United FC 1, NJ Stallions Academy 0: Carlos Vegas’s second-half tally off a Spencer Mallion assist was all West Pines would need to earn Monday’s semifinal victory and advance to Tuesday’s final against the Chicago Inferno.

U12 Boys – Long Island Rough Riders 1, BW Gottschee 0: Joseph Scally scored the Rough Riders’ tally in the second half to lead the team into Tuesday’s final.

U12 Boys – Orlando City SC 2, Internationals SC 1 (OT): After a scoreless first half, Orlando City tallied a second-half goal and then a winner in overtime to advance to Tuesday’s championship against Long Island. Jackson Moore and Gabriel Toro were the goal scorers for Orlando City, while Michael Banyasz scored for Internationals.