Men's First Team Wins First Men's Trophy In ECFC History
- Gareth Mullins
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
The Men's First Team made Edgewater Castle FC history on Saturday at Techny Park in Northbrook, Illinois, winning their first ever championship, the ISSA Men's Open Cup, against FC Select in a memorable 2-1 win.
GOALS:
Edgewater Castle FC: Kamil 45' (A Kimiavi), Benedetto 90+4' (PK)
FC Select: 78' (PK)
First Half
For the third time in three years, the men's first team found themselves in the ISSA State Cup Final. Suffering defeats from Czarni Jasło in the 2023 season and Wisloka Chicago in the 2024 season, the Rooks knew prior to the match that this final against FC Select could be the chance to turn a page in the history of the club, ending the Rooks' chase for the state title while also winning the Men's First Team's first ever piece of silverware.
The match began with both teams starting off hot. Select would initiate an early corner at 7', only for Roberto Cardano to clear it away from danger thanks to assistance provided by defender Rafael "Rafa" Santos. The Rooks would respond at 14', with Lucas Sampson rushing up on the right wing to trigger a one-on-one with Select's goalkeeper, only for the keeper to deflect the ball off of his left hand. Both teams showed early determination to win the trophy, putting pressure on each other's defenses early.
A stalemate developed shortly afterwards, with neither team being able to gain the upper hand. Enzo Dagatti would take multiple freekicks, but none were able to find the net. Select would continue to try and push forwards both through the midfield and on the wing, but solid tackling by Alan Alonso and Sampson would lock down both areas of the field. Rooks goalkeeper Joey Galante would also be tested, defending a freekick against Select after drawing a yellow for collecting what was ruled a backwards pass at 42'. Neither the Rooks nor Select looked to be able to break the stalemate.
However, right at the end of the half at the 45th minute, the Rooks would do just that. Running up the left wing past Select's defenders, Bardia Kimiavi would find an avenue to the endline, passing back to Murtadha Kami located at the penalty spot. Murtadha would shoot left, freezing the FC Select keeper, and giving the Rooks the 1-0 advantage going into the half.
Second Half
Despite the Rooks taking the lead before halftime, Select continued with their offensive press on the sides of the field, making the likes of Alonso, Sampson, and Cardano stay on their toes. In 54', Select nearly scored off of a corner kick, but Rooks captain Quinten "Q" Benedetto headed the ball just above goal to keep the lead.
The Rooks would create their own chance at 58', when Kimiavi would pass to Alonso while pressing upwards, but Select's keeper deflected the ball away to the left. Slowly but surely, the majority of ball possession was shifting in Select's favor.
As the intensity of the match continued to grow towards the end of the match, a wrench was thrown in the Rooks' victory plans. In the 78th minute, Galante would draw a second yellow card for preventing a Select scoring opportunity, leaving the Rooks down a man and Select with a penalty shot. Rooks goalkeeper Aidan Crawford stepped up to challenge, but was unsuccessful in preventing the goal. Now with 10 minutes left and with only 10 players on the field, the pressure was on the Rooks to overcome the odds and become first-time champions.
After keeping Select at bay through the end of regular time thanks in part to Crawford's leadership on the field, all pointed to the game going into penalties to decide the winner. However, the Rooks had other plans; Kamil would draw a penalty of his own in the 94th minute after being tackled in the box by Select's goalkeeper following a similar dribbling attack by Sampson. Benedetto stepped up to take the penalty with all of Techny Park dead silent; striking left, the penalty would be initially deflected away, but Benedetto kept his cool, sending
in the rebound to make the score 2-1.
Following Benedetto's massive goal, the Rooks kept up their strong defensive formation to secure the ISSA State Cup Trophy. The win marks Edgewater Castle FC's first ever Men's trophy, a moment that will long be remembered by all those in attendance and beyond.
The Men's First Team are set to compete in their final game of the season, a must-win game against Rockford FC on Thursday July 31st at 7:30 PM at Hoyne Field that decides the winner of the Midwest Premier League Heartland Division II competition.
