Raleigh and NOVA are 4-0 in Gold Cup / Photo: Mark Brocker (see more)
Last weekend saw seven of eight Gold Cup members in action, injecting high-level, cross-geographic union (GU) games into the DI landscape. Raleigh hosted the Mid-Atlantic vs. Red River leg, and the Venom and NOVA lead the standings at 4-0.
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Raleigh defeated Houston Athletic (HARC) 75-12 on Saturday and Austin 32-7 on Sunday. NOVA bested Austin 29-10 and HARC 48-10 (stay tuned for NOVA’s comments).
“On Saturday I believe we overwhelmed Houston with our size and pace,” Raleigh veteran T Fletcher summarized. “For Sunday, we had a plan from observing the Austin vs. NOVA match and knew we were in for a good match. Upon arrival we found out that we would have to simplify the structures and really work on the defensive shape, as the grounds were very muddy.”
The rain, snow and sleet made a wide, fast game difficult, and so Raleigh ramped up its kicking game to gain more territory.
“This paid off in the first half, as Austin had struggled to get into the match with some mistakes we didn’t see on Saturday against NOVA,” Fletcher recapped a 27-0 lead in the first half. “Coming into the second half, Austin made some very smart adjustments, really pushed us defensively, and spent a large amount of time in our red zone.”
Austin outscored Raleigh 7-5 in the second half.
” … [That] was good for us, to have a team shut us down like they were able to,” Fletcher added. “We are fortunate to have that happen early in the season and now we can make adjustments to prepare for the next round of Gold Cup in Detroit.”
After the Gold Cup ends, Raleigh will refocus on the Mid-Atlantic Conference playoffs, where the Venom will play NOVA in the semifinals. The victor will play Philadelphia in the MAC final on May 6. Raleigh filmed all of the matches last weekend and will take a deeper look at NOVA in the run-up to the post-season.
“NOVA, of course, looked solid and we are looking forward to playing them at the MAC finals and avenging the loss from last October,” Fletcher looked toward the May 5-6 league championships.
“We had so many players stand out over the weekend and we attribute that to the opportunities we had provided to us through [Carolinas GU] and USA South select sides,” the veteran continued. “A lot of our players had extra matches and training that just provides a solid base for some of the newer players coming through our program to help make that difference in these full-match Saturday and Sunday weekends throughout the spring.”
The Gold Cup resumes April 7-8 and sees the Mid-Atlantic travel to the Midwest, and the Atlantic North head to Red River. The fourth leg will occur April 21-22.
Stay tuned for more commentary from Atlantic North leader Boston.
GOLD CUP ROUND 2
Raleigh 75-12 Houston Athletic
Raleigh 32-7 Austin
NOVA 29-10 Austin
NOVA 48-10 Houston Athletic
Monmouth (1-2) 19-7 Detroit
Boston 17-0 Detroit
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