On Saturday, May 4, both the girls and boys SOCA U13 Elite teams booked their passage to the VYSA State Cup semi-final round, with convincing quarter-final wins at home.
Starting the day in the 11:00 am match at South Fork Soccer Park, were the U13 Boys, who jumped to an early lead, and ended with a comfortable 3-1 win over Arlington. Led by coach Matt Rowe, the SOCA squad scored and generated several additional good scoring opportunities in the first half, before putting the game out of reach in the second stanza. Jamey Williamson, Ronan MacDonald, and Avi Shreves all notched goals for SOCA.
The SOCA U13 Boys Elite will face Alexandria in the semi-final match, at 10:00 am on Field #1 at the Virginia Soccer Training Center (VSTC).
Guided by long-serving coach Fran Lavin, the SOCA U13 Girls Elite team put on a dominating display over Alexandria later in the day in the friendly comfort of South Fork Soccer Park and posted a 5-0 win over the visitors. Two goals each from Reese Mattern and Natalie Johnson and a solo mark from Reese Coggeshall stamped the locals’ authority on the match.
The girls will face NVSC in a 12:00 noon kick off at the VSTC Field #1.
All semi-final matches are scheduled for Saturday, May 18 at the VSTC, with the winners advancing to the championship matches on Sunday, May 19 at the same venue.
For complete State Cup bracket information, follow this link: https://www.vysa.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2519875
On Sunday, November 4 at the Virginia Soccer Training Center in Fredericksburg, SOCA added its second and third girls State Cup trophies to the growing trove of club accolades by virtue of championship performances by the U15 Elite and U16 Elite teams. The club now has collected seven State Cup titles.
The U15 Girls Elite, under the coaching direction of Jimmy Tharpe, pushed past the Herndon Crush in the Saturday semi-final by a 1-0 margin that was not completely indicative of the control SOCA exerted on the match. While largely dominating possession and dictating terms throughout the game, the lone goal was notched by Liz Burns with only two minutes remaining via penalty kick. Burns converted the kick after drawing the foul.
The Sunday final saw SOCA jump to a 2-0 lead over Fredericksburg mid-way through the first half, and hold on to that score line to win the title. Cristina Valladares opened the scoring at the 21 minute mark with a dipping 20 yard blast that went over the Fredericksburg goalkeeper and neatly under the bar. Madeline St. Amand doubled the margin in the 29th minute by cutting in from the left flank and bending the ball with her right foot inside the far post.
From there it was a game of control, as SOCA defended without conceding dangerous opportunities while seeking to find the killer thrust when the chance arose. A few moments of excitement at either end failed to alter the score and SOCA rode out a deserved win.
The story was reversed for the U16 Girls Elite who convincingly won in the Saturday semi-final and were made to struggle for the championship win on Sunday.
Against a game Beach FC side in the semifinal, Maddie Packer opened the scoring at 15 minutes only to have Beach level the accounts 10 minutes later. The score remained tied at the interval.
After the break it was a back and forth affair until mid-way through the second period when Laurel Molloy scored on a penalty kick to put pressure on the opponents. As time ticked away and Beach pushed forward, Sydney Dombrovskis provided the finishing blow making it 3-1 with only minutes to play.
On Sunday, the Arlington opponents proved to be a tough nut to crack in the final, with SOCA prevailing 1-0 by an overtime goal from the ever-effective Ellie Cox. The game is described as a fierce battle of wills, with neither side conceding ground nor giving quarter. Regulation produced few chances and no goals.
Play was tough, determined and demanding. The outcome was balanced on a razor’s edge; a single mistake or moment of brilliance would tip the scale. Cox received praise for her consistent energy and creative contribution throughout the weekend and fittingly she provided the game winner with a top-of-the-box blast into the lower corner after five minutes gone in the first overtime period. SOCA pressed for the remainder of the first overtime period, and was forced to largely defend in the second OT period facing a biting wind and a desperate opponent.
Special commendation goes to goal keeper Jaya Daniel and the back four crew of Macy Drumheller, Emily Ward, Reanna Slater and Cordelia O’Connell who managed to repel repeated attacks. It was an all-hands-on-deck defensive effort from the entire squad that eventually won the day.
The squad, led by coach Dan Ensley, showed resilience under difficult conditions to claim Ensley’s third State title with SOCA.
Both teams will represent Virginia in the USYSA Regional Championships next summer.
Five SOCA Elite teams pushed through to the VYSA State Cup semi-finals after a busy day of Cup action on Saturday, October 14. SOCA had eight teams battling in the quarterfinal round and with five of them advancing to claim coveted Final Four spots the club has demonstrated its prowess.
Five matches in the statewide championship competition were hosted by SOCA at the Charlottesville High School stadium. The U18 Girls Elite kicked off the day at 10:00 am, where the locals enjoyed home field advantage and set the tone for the day by beating the visiting Virginia Rush 3-1. The U18’s will face Loudoun in the next round.
The U17 Girls Elite went next at 12:00 noon and dropped a heart breaker in penalty kicks to a tough Arlington squad.
In the ensuing 2:00 pm match, the U15 Girls Elite picked up the earlier winning thread and ran out a convincing 4-0 win over Arlington. The U15’s will face #3 seed Crush in the penultimate round.
At 4:00 pm, the U18 Boys ran into a Roanoke buzz saw and fell 0-4, ending their Cup campaign.
In the 6:00 pm closing match, SOCA’s winning ways returned as the U15 Boys Elite squeezed past visiting Loudoun 3-2, to advance to the semi-finals where they will face #2 seed and CCL rival LMVSC.
Three teams hit the road to conduct their State Cup business away from home, and two teams earned wins to advance in the knock-out competition. The U16 Boys Elite put together a comprehensive winning display in their 4-1 win over Virginia Beach City FC. They will face Arlington in the semi-final.
The U16 Girls Elite squad won a nail biter against a determined Fredericksburg FC host, and came away with the 1-0 win to advance to meet Beach FC. The U17 Boys Elite dropped to Loudoun, eliminating them from further play.
In the U15-U19 Cup brackets, a total of 40 teams remain in the competition, with SOCA providing five of those contestants. The semi-finals will be heavily populated by CCL teams, making for familiar foes and demonstrating the strength of the top regional league.
The VYSA State Cup semi-finals are scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 27 at the Virginia Soccer Training Center in Fredericksburg. The championship finals are slated for November 4, also at the VSTC.
The next round of VYSA State Cup fixtures has been released for the Saturday, October 13 game day, as the surviving teams battle in the quarterfinals seeking advancement to a coveted final four placement. Eight SOCA Elite squads remain in the single elimination, knock out competition and of those, five will have the home field advantage in Charlottesville.
Five consecutive Cup matches will take place at the Charlottesville High School stadium field on Saturday. A full day of showcase quality soccer will be on display.
Saturday, October 13 State Cup Schedule @ CHS
10:00 am U18 Elite Girls vs Rush
12:00 noon U17 Elite Girls vs Arlington
2:00 pm U15 Elite Girls vs Arlington
4:00 pm U18 Elite Boys vs Roanoke
6:00 pm U15 Elite Boys vs Loudoun
Three SOCA teams will be on the road as they seek advancement in the Cup.
U16 Elite Girls @ Fredericksburg FC, 11:00 am
U17 Boys Elite @ Loudoun, 1:30 pm
U16 Boys Elite @ Virginia Beach City FC, 5:00 pm
SOCA’s comprehensive success in the state championship competition is an indicator of the health and quality of the club. Fully one in ten teams remaining in the statewide event hail from SOCA.
See full VYSA State Cup schedule and age group brackets here: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
The VYSA State Cup quarterfinal round is filling up with SOCA Elite squads. On Saturday, September 29, five top local teams advanced to the quarterfinal round of the single-elimination competition by virtue of their knock-out wins at home, joining their club mates who had advanced the previous week. A total of eight SOCA Elite teams are now placed in the final eight of their respective age group.
Both the Western Albemarle High School stadium and the STAB stadium hosted SOCA matches under sunny skies on Saturday. At St. Anne’s-Belfield, three goals was the magic number. The U16 Girls began the proceedings with a 3-0 shut out over McLean at 11:00 am. In the 1:00 pm game the U16 Boys continued the storyline with a 3-1 win over Roanoke. Closing in the 3:00 pm match were the U15 Boys who topped their Roanoke rivals 3-0.
At the Western Albemarle venue, it was a tale of two different matches, where the U18/19 Boys were impolite hosts, putting a 11-0 drubbing on the visiting FPYC Eagles. The closing match of the day saw the U17 Boys squeak by Herndon Argentinos by a 2-1 margin.
The Cup competition will take a week off for the Columbus Day holiday, with play resuming on October 13.
To view all VYSA State Cup brackets and results, follow this link: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
After a statewide delayed start to the national championship competition, SOCA teams kicked off the fall season VYSA State Cup campaign with four wins on Saturday, September 22. The previous weekend was removed as a play date by Cup organizers due to wet conditions and hurricane Florence concerns.
Under continued gray skies, three matches were held on the stadium turf at Charlottesville High School, where the second seed U15 Elite Girls began the day with a 5-0 rout of McLean. In the second match, SOCA’s fourth seeded U17 Elite Girls squeezed past Loudoun 1-0. The closing match of the day at CHS featured the second seeded U18/19 Elite Girls in a 4-0 romp over Golden Ball SA.
On the road, the U19 Elite Boys topped Culpeper Comets 2-1, and will face top seeded McLean in the next round.
Six SOCA teams will be competing in the next round of the Cup this Saturday, September 29, with five matches scheduled in Charlottesville. The U15, U16, U17, U18/19 Elite Boys and the U16 Elite Girls are all scheduled to play locally. Field locations and times are being confirmed, as wet conditions persist.
The U19 Elite Boys will try to keep their momentum moving forward as they travel to take on McLean.
For all State Cup results and brackets, follow this link: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
Three SOCA Elite teams will compete in the VYSA State Cup final four over the weekend of May 19 & 20 after claiming wins in the quarter final round. Joining the U12 Girls Apprentice, who qualified last week, are the U13 Boys Elite and U14 Boys Elite, both of whom advanced with wins on Saturday, May 6.
The U13 Boys Elite prevailed in a wild, emotionally draining affair against the visiting Lee Mount Vernon side at South Fork Soccer Park on Saturday afternoon. In an epic battle that saw the score tied 3-3 at the end of regulation, and 4-4 at the end of extra time, the match went to penalty kicks to determine the winner.
SOCA ‘keeper Jacob Engel made sparkling saves in the first two rounds of shots, and SOCA jumped to a 3-0 lead in the kicks from the mark. LMVSC clawed back to even the kicks at three a piece at the conclusion of the initial round of five kicks. The proceedings then went to single kicks for each team until one side was eliminated. It took an additional five rounds to separate the two sides. After 10 total rounds of spot kick drama, the SOCA supporters could finally breathe as the players celebrated their marathon win.
The fourth seeded U13’s will face #1 seed Virginia Legacy in the semi-final.
SOCA’s U14 Elite Boys also faced a determined opponent in the Stafford Revolution at the Charlottesville High School stadium in an evening match. The match was tied 1-1 entering the closing phase of the game, when SOCA scored from a headed goal off a corner kick, with only six minutes remaining. The second seeded SOCA squad will next face #3 seed LMVSC.
The U12 Girls Apprentice (#2 seed) will play against third seed Arlington in their semi-final match.
Placing three teams in the semi-final round of the VYSA State Cup is a testament to the players’ abilities, coaches’ leadership and the quality of SOCA programming overall. SOCA Director of Soccer, Bill Mueller, is pleased with the club’s performance.
“Any time any team makes it to the Cup final four we know that there is a great deal of time and effort that went in to that success. No team succeeds in a vacuum. It is the culmination of efforts by the players, families, coaches, club staff and an army of volunteers along the way. Placing three teams in the final four is really a strong statement about our club. That level of consistent success is the result of great kids, committed coaches and a supporting structure provided by the club. SOCA has unique, comprehensive player development and supplemental programs which allow each player to advance. Our Challenge program is the envy of many of our competitors. The SOCA player identification, selection and placement process is proven successful. It takes a constant, integrated effort to achieve the consistent results our club has enjoyed. I’m really proud of our players, coaches, volunteers and staff. SOCA is a marvelous community of soccer enthusiasts.”
All State Cup semi-final matches will take place at the Virginia Soccer Training Center in Fredericksburg. View here for more VYSA State Cup information: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
Both the boys and girls U12 Apprentice teams advanced in State Cup play on Saturday, April 28, by taking very different routes to the next round.
The boys enjoyed the comforts of home at South Fork Soccer Park, where they cruised to a 7-1 win over Virginia Legacy. The match was tight at half-time, with SOCA narrowly leading 1-0 on a Sam Calhoun goal just before the interval. The early lead resulted from SOCA high pressure and Calhoun’s one-touch interception turned into the opening tally.
After the half-time break, SOCA went on a tear with striker Jamey Williamson scoring a hat trick in a 12 minute span to start the half. Williamson’s trio was followed by a Daniel Sanchez blast from 22 yards at the 15 minute mark, making it 5-0 at that point.
The SOCA attacking strike force combined to free up Trip Janucik who danced through the defense to score the sixth tally from inside the box. Sanchez closed out the SOCA scoring in the 25th minute, before Legacy pulled back a consolation goal three minutes from time.
The Boys Apprentice squad will next play a Cup quarterfinal match-up on May 5, facing SYC at South Fork Soccer Park in a 1:00 pm kick-off on Field #5.
The SOCA U12 Girls Apprentice had a more difficult path to their semi-final round. Having made the long trek to Virginia Beach to face Beach FC, the #7 seeded locals pulled off the improbable upset by holding the second seeded hosts to a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation, before prevailing 5-3 on penalty kicks. The girls will next face third seeded Arlington in a semi-final match on May 19 at the Publix Virginia Training Center in Fredericksburg. If they win, the young ladies will play in the final the following day.
Saturday, May 5 will be a big Cup date at South Fork. SOCA will be hosting three matches in addition to the U12 Boys’ game. The U13 Boys (4 seed) will take on LMVSC at 1:00 pm, the U14 Girls (3 seed) will face Loudoun at 3:00 pm, and closing the day will be the second seed U14 boys at 5:00 pm. All three are quarterfinal matches, held on Field #4. Winners will advance to the Cup semi-finals on May 19.
See all VYSA State Cup info here: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
SOCA Elite and Apprentice teams swept to a perfect start of the spring State Cup campaign, posting four wins on Saturday, April 21 at South Fork Soccer Park.
Playing under delightful spring conditions, the local teams enjoyed home advantage in their park and will look to carry momentum in the ensuing rounds.
Starting the day were the U14 Boys Elite, who notched a 3-1 win over Winchester in a closely contested match. The second seeded SOCA squad will host Stafford Revolution in the next round, which will again be at home. That match has not yet been scheduled by the Cup committee.
The U12 Girls Apprentice team (#7 seed) battled in the tightest match of the day, prevailing 2-1 over LMVSC, and thus advancing to play second seed Beach FC, this Saturday, April 28, at Beach.
Continuing the day’s good form were the fourth seeded U13 Boys Elite, who posted the greatest goal total of the day, with a 4-1 win over visiting Herndon. SOCA scored two early goals and the match turned competitive and contested, until two late goals put the game comfortably out of reach. SOCA U13 Boys Elite will next face fifth seeded LMVSC at SFSP, in a match yet to be scheduled.
In the closing game of the day, the U14 Girls Elite recorded a 3-0 shutout against a scrappy ODFC Quest team. SOCA scored in the opening moments, and then battled for an extended period before finally exerting control and closing out the match with an additional two goals. The SOCA squad carries their #3 seeding to the next round, where they will enjoy home field against Loudoun in a match to be scheduled by VYSA State Cup organizers.
This coming Saturday, April 28, the SOCA U12 Boys Apprentice (#4 seed) will take on CCL rival Virginia Legacy at South Fork Soccer Park, Field #5 (1:00 pm kick-off) in their opening Cup appearance, while the U13 Girls Elite will travel to fourth seeded SYA for their Cup start.
For complete VYSA State Cup information, follow this link: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
SOCA Elite teams have found success on the State Cup fields this fall season with seven teams now advanced to the quarterfinal round. With the single elimination format, Cup play is unforgiving and only consistently high performing teams progress through the tournament.
SOCA is known as a club producing quality teams capable of competing for the state title at most age groups. At the outset of the fall competition, nine of SOCA’s ten U19-U15 Elite teams were seeded in the Cup, an affirmation of the club’s overall quality.
Both the U18 Boys and Girls are defending State Cup champions, having won the title last fall at the U17 age group. Both are thus seeded first in their bracket, and will enjoy home matches in the next round.
Joining the U18’s at the quarterfinal stage are the U19, U17 and U15 Girls and the U17 and U16 Boys.
The quarterfinal matches are set for October 14. A game schedule has not yet been released by VYSA. The semifinal round will be held on October 28, with the finals taking place on November 5. Semifinals and finals will be held at the Virginia Training Center in Fredericksburg.
For more VYSA State Cup information, look here: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html