2018: A Year In Review
Looking back at 2018, our club grew on the pitch as well as off, significantly. We qualified for our first Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, started a new program, and added to our leadership board.
2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
Qualifying for our first proper US Open Cup run was very exciting for our club. In Fall of 2017, we clinched our first spot in the cup. Preparing for a much higher level of play, we traveled to St Louis to play two friendlies against USL club, St Louis FC. We lost both matches but took home valuable lessons from the pitch and made new friends. In January of this year, we announced our working partnership with St Louis and look forward to more potential opportunities to play them again. In the second round, we drew the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. We showed grit, passion, and heart against the USL squad and lost a highly competitive match in the final minutes 2-3.
2019 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
On the path to qualifying for our second consecutive Open Cup, we drew Harpos in the second round. Harpos have had a strong hold on the Colorado Premier League and came out victorious every time we played them in the past two years. In emphatic fashion, we beat our biggest rival in penalties to send us to the third round of qualifying. In the third round, we beat UPSL squad GAM United 4-1. Our next match will be announced in the coming months.
FC Denver U19
An idea we have been working on for some time finally came to life. With the help of numerous individuals, we created our new U19 program. We were able to recruit top notch individuals and coaches: Peter Bunting, Bob Boyle, and Nick McKellar. We hosted try outs and put together a team of incredible young men who embody the spirit of our club. They traveled to their first national tournament, the College Showcase Cup in San Diego, where they played some of the top talent in the United States. With their first season in the Colorado Premier League approaching in Spring of 2019, we are excited to see how the boys perform.
Masters
Our Masters squad was dominant in the State Cup, again. The over 30’s won their 3rd consecutive Division 2 title in the State Cup. They also qualified for the Colorado Premier League finals for the second season in a row.
Growing Leadership
Building off of the success and energy our club saw in 2018, we added three new members to our leadership board. Master’s player, Nicholas Wilson, was announced as our club Vice-President. Nick is extremely excited to assist Eric in building this club on and off the pitch. Another Master’s player, Brandon Best, was announced as our Financial Director. Brandon is a long serving member of our club and we are very happy to have him on our leadership board after what he has contributed on the field. With the digital space expanding faster than ever, we announced United player, Evan Kiesow as our Digital Director. Evan runs our social media platforms and managed the overhaul of our new website.
Conclusion
2018 was an extraordinary year for us. We cannot thank everyone enough who has helped us achieve our goals this year. We are for the community and when our community recognizes this, it means the world to us. 2019 will be even bigger and better and we cannot wait to share it with all of you. Cheers!
#WeAreDenver