The Unity Cup, which consisted of 30-minute games with no halftime or hydration breaks, began with a women's showcase that featured Team Idaho going up against Team USA.
Team Idaho scored the showcase's first goal within the first four minutes of the game. They held the lead all game, before Team USA was able to tie things up as time expired, sending the game into a sudden death round.
Sudden death consisted of penalty kicks, with the first team to score a goal being crowned as the winners. Team Idaho missed their kick, before Team USA was able to make theirs and pull off the come from behind victory.
After a thrilling women's victory, the Unity Cup continued with four men's teams competing in single elimination games. The four teams were Team Africa, Team Latin America, Team Euro-Asia, and Team USA.
In the first game played between Team Africa and Team Latin America, the match remained scoreless until the final 2 minutes of the game when Team Africa was able to break through and score the first and only goal that would ultimately send them to the championship game.
Following Team Africa's win, Team USA and Team Euro-Asia faced off for the final spot in the championship. A back and forth battle that remained scoreless until the final 10 minutes of the game, Team USA was able to capitalize on a penalty kick and secure their spot into the championship against Team Africa.
In the championship game, it was all Team USA. Jackson Keller got the scoring started for Team USA after knocking a header into the top right corner of the goal shortly before the halfway point in the game.
Within the final two minutes, Keller would once again have a header, this time setting up Jackson Chase to score the second and final goal of the game for Team USA, securing their win and helping them claim the first ever BYUI Unity Cup.
0 Comments