Dalton United, Led By Jip van den Essen, Unbeaten After First Two UPSL Matches

Jip is tied as the top scorer in the country with 5 goals, leading Dalton to 4 early points.

Dalton United have gotten off to a great start in the UPSL Premier Georgia Division, with the club unbeaten after two matches and in 6th place, two points behind first-place Kalonji Pro-Profile.

This start is mostly thanks to a 6-0 thrashing of Columbus Elite in the season (and home) opener. Jip van den Essen scored 5 goals and had one assist, taking advantage of an undisciplined Columbus backline with multiple runs in behind for goals. Good combination play in the midfield and through balls from wide positions created his chances in an overall dominant team performance.

All of Jip’s highlights from the match can be found here. He is now tied as the top goal scorer in the country, sharing the title with Jose Montes de Oca of Chiriaco FC U23 (Coachella, California).

Dalton’s second game was away at Locust Grove High School against Albion SC Atlanta, which finished as a 0-0 draw. The team played well overall in rainy weather, but couldn’t finish their numerous chances. With 15 minutes left in the match, Dalton went down to 10 men due to an injury when the team was out of substitutions. Nevertheless, their backline held strong and kept a clean sheet for a point.

The club being in 6th place does not properly reflect the club’s position. Limeno Georgia and Filial Pachuca Georgia sit above the club, but both have played one extra match. A win in their game-in-hand would see Dalton go above both. They could also go above 1st-3rd place (Kalonji Pro-Profile, UMA FC, North Georgia United; all on 6 points from two matches) if results go their way.

While their last home game against Georgia Revolution was postponed due to inclement weather, Dalton will play soon away to Limeno Georgia on March 22 at 7:00pm EST. Their next home game is on April 5 at 6:00pm EST against Filial Pachuca Georgia. The club will face the current Top 3 clubs in the Premier Division back-to-back-to-back between April 26 and May 17, which will be a major decider for spring playoff seeding and regular season title contention.

We’ll have to see if Dalton United can continue their good start and challenge for this year’s Georgia Premier Division title.