Information taken from the official website of Diez.hn
Hail the champion! After a heart attack final, Delaware United won the first edition of the Edward and Hodges Cup by beating Chattanooga 1-0, which also pocketed $ 80,000 as a prize.
«Our goal when we participate in any tournament is to win it, not just to participate,» its president, Mike Santos, had said so forcefully, the head of this team that is beginning to surprise in the amateur soccer leagues in the United States.
Delaware United did not have an easy path to be crowned champion, however from the group stage it showed that it was not going for a walk and managed to finish in first place and undefeated by starting drawing with Real España Eli, defeating Contour United and Union Jerez.
DELAWARE, THE SMALL TEAM WITH GIANT DREAMS
In the round of 16, the blue team dispatched Valle de Santiago, while in the quarterfinals they met again with Real España Eli, one of the strongest clubs in the competition, and ended up beating him.
Mike Santos, the CEO of Delaware United, speaking with our correspondent, Philep Clark.
Classified to the semifinals, the crossing was against the favorite to be champion. Delaware United faced the Houston Horizon in an early final and Mike Santos’s men sweated blood, but they ended up winning the ticket by beating Luis Paredes’ team on penalties.
Delaware did not have it easy in the grand final either, although it had already finished with the strongest, but it also managed to bring Tennessee’s Chattanooga to its knees.
What Mike Santos once dreamed of, he is now making come true. Delaware United, an institution it took over a year ago and underwent a complete restructuring, is already savoring some fruits of the vision that its owner embodied several years ago.
This is just beginning for Delaware, now their next mission is to go for the Mariachi Cup, which will be played on June 12 and 13, also in Atlanta, Georgia.
Delaware United beat Chattanooga of Tennessee 1-0 in the final.
