Dalton United can jump the 5 Stripes for the regular season title with two games to play
by Jason Longshore
It was a tale of two halves on Wednesday night at the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground as Atlanta United's U19 team faced off with KSA Pro-Profile in their UPSL regular season finale. A win would clinch the regular season title for the 5 Stripes, while anything less would open the door for Dalton United to earn the top seed going into the postseason.
It looked like things were going to be settled quickly as Matthew Dejianne scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the match. Assists from Luke Hutzell and Stephen Hurlock helped Dejianne to claim the top spot in the Golden Boot race as he scored his 13th and 14th goals of the regular season. (Photo credit: @vani.angel12sports)
However, KSA started to force Atlanta to sit deeper and deeper to defend as the first half went on. They found their breakthrough early in the second half on goals from Sanaan William and a volleyed bomb from Junior Sandoval and the match was level at 2-2 with plenty of time to play. Both teams had opportunities to win it. The goalkeepers Kyle Jansen for Atlanta and Henry Pleitez for KSA were strong on the night to earn their teams a point.
Dalton plays two games this weekend against teams towards the bottom of the table, Vinotinto FC at Silverbacks Park on Saturday at 5pm and then Legends FC at Callaway Stadium Sunday at 6pm. If Dalton United wins both matches, they'll win the regular season title. Atlanta would then finish second and face the seventh seed in the quarterfinals. Anything less than two wins for Dalton will give the top seed to Atlanta.
Enjoy the highlights of the match from the Atlantic Soccer Media Group:
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