When the Dorchester City Football Club joined the United Premier Soccer League’s (UPSL) Division I last fall, they were proud to be the first and only semi-professional men’s soccer team in Dorchester.
But that distinction was short-lived. In December, another Dorchester-based team, the Boston Emeralds Football Club, joined the league for the spring season.
The two squads played each other for the first time over the weekend on a rainy Easter Sunday afternoon, and the McGonagle’s-backed Emeralds prevailed, 2-1, in what both teams called the inaugural Dot Derby.
The Emeralds struck first in the 37th minute when No. 5, Aidan Rahill, found the back of the net with what Emeralds head coach Keegan Hegarty called “a scrappy, scrappy goal in the box.”
In the second half, Dot City’s Jose Andrade gained control of the ball near the halfway line and ran down the right wing, where he cut in to sneak a shot past Emeralds goalkeeper Alec Pettit.
Roughly six minutes later, the Emeralds re-gained the lead, when Fran Azzaro tapped in a rebound off the foot of Jonny Bonner.
Despite the result for his team, Dot City FC head coach Robert Alexander described the emerging rivalry as exciting. “It was a very competitive game. I thought it was a game between two talented squads that I would imagine are going to be competing for the postseason this year.”
Added Alexander: “The fact that it is possible Dorchester can have two highly competitive teams in this division this season is really exciting for the city and neighborhood. I hope that the competition between squads drives us both to a higher level.”
In addition to Andrade, Anderson saluted winger Ansley Glemaud, a Dorchester native and TechBoston Academy graduate, who excelled on the field. Alexander also pointed toward defender Guilherme Vicente, who “put in a full 90-minute shift.”
Hegarty said his stars included both his goal scorers and team captain Adam Hanson, but he said that the “best player” of the game was center Mark Mc Fadden.
He conceded that “Dot City gave us a good game, but it’s good to have that first win over them. It was a stress reliever, I’ll tell you that. Me and Kevin (Tarr), we’ve been working really hard trying to get the club up and running. Once that whistle blew and it was 2-1 up, just relieved.”
The teams will compete once again in the final game of the regular season on Sun., June 7, at 6:15 p.m. at BC High.
