Christian Cardoso and Boston Ely helped the Alliance Fire 06-07 soccer team to the national semifinals.
The Alliance Fire went 2-0-1 in pool play, but eventually lost in Saturday’s semifinal match 3-0 to Ohio Galaxies FC Elite at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
In the pool play round, the Alliance defeated Azzurri Storm Elite from Florida 5-1. They played to a 0-0 draw against Raiders FC from Illinois. In the final game, they defeated NAL from Pennsylvania 3-1 to finish first in the group.
“Our first game, we played really well. We did start off slow in the first half, but in the second half, we picked it up,” Cardoso said. “It was really hot, so we had breaks in between. We picked it up after the breaks. We felt really good after that win. The game against the Raiders was back-and-forth, back-and-forth and we had our chances of scoring. The game ended in a tie. The third game, they scored in the first four minutes of the game, but after 15 minutes, we started going and going and attacking and attacking. We got it to 1-1, and we started going and going more. We got chances and scored two more goals.”
Cardoso, a 2024 Columbus North graduate and incoming sophomore at IU Columbus, is one of two Columbus natives on the roster made up mostly of players from Bloomington and Center Grove. Boston Ely played his first three years at Columbus East before playing his final season at Bloomington South.
Although it wasn’t the result Cardoso wanted, he enjoyed the experience of playing in the national tournament his final time in travel soccer.
“It was an amazing run from my team. I’m for sure going to miss them as individuals on and off the field” he said. “It was just the perfect way to end a season. No matter win or lose, you’re there with your best friends, even as little kids. It was really great. A lot of emotions, a lot of tears and a lot of happiness. It was a lot of emotions that were left out there. Everyone gave it everything that they could at Orlando. It was an amazing and a great experience.”
Cardoso is ready to begin his sophomore season at IU Columbus. He scored two goals and tied for the team lead with five assists last fall, when the Crimson Pride went 4-11-2.
“I’m so eager to get back out there and start playing again for IUC,” he said. “I have so much passion that I can’t wait to get back out there,” he said.
