SOCA Travel teams completed an unprecedented sweep of league play championships this spring season, by winning over-all club titles at the Elite, Premier and Classic levels. This remarkable achievement is the result of consistently high quality throughout the club’s Travel teams, across all levels of play.
In the Elite level Club Champions League, the over-all club championship is determined by points allocated for the final standing of all teams, U12 to U18/19. The points are accumulated over the course of the entire soccer year. CCL is composed of 16 of the highest level clubs in Virginia, DC and Maryland, making it a nationally recognized regional league. More league info and standings here: https://clubchampionsleague.com/
The Skyline Club Soccer League, home to SOCA’s Premier and Classic teams, uses a point accumulation system similar to the CCL to determine the club champion at both the Premier and Classic level. The Skyline league serves the west central portion of Virginia, providing the highest level of competition at the Premier and Classic levels. Find more league info and standings here: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline-league/
Elite Win CCL
Three SOCA teams claimed division titles to lead the charge to the top in this highly competitive competition: Girls U15 Elite (undefeated, untied), U14 Boys Elite and U18/19 Boys Elite. In total, SOCA nudged out the nearest club competitor by four points to earn the overall crown. SOCA teams were remarkably consistent in their performance and the club has earned a reputation for high quality, skillful play and savvy coaching.
Charlottesville Premier Co-Champs in SCSL
The SOCA-Charlottesville Premier teams are co-champions with New River United for the spring 2019 season. Charlottesville and NRU are tied on 62 championship points each. SOCA-Charlottesville U13 Boys are division champions with a perfect 10-0-0 record, while the SOCA-Augusta U12 Girls also had an unblemished 10-0-0 record to lead SOCA-Augusta to an overall third place finish in the league standings.
Charlottesville Classic Tops in SCSL
Both the U12 Girls and the U14 Girls White squads were division winners, helping SOCA-Charlottesville outdistance the nearest club rival by 15 league points.
The comprehensive performance speaks to the success of the club mission, says Bill Mueller, SOCA’s Director of Soccer. “We have an intentional plan to provide quality soccer programming to all our participants, at every level. These recent club-wide successes are an indicator of SOCA’s commitment to that plan. The successes are a function of careful planning and long-term building, to be sure. They are also very definitely the result of talented players, thoughtful coaches, and supportive families. We’re grateful to all the people who commit themselves every day to supporting their child, their team and their club.”
With the conclusion of the 2018/2019 season, the focus now turns to planning and developing players in the next annual soccer cycle. “Each year presents new opportunity and new challenges. We have a restructured Skyline League to compete in, and new challenges in the CCL to face. We’re eager to develop our players to take on these new tests,” says Mueller.
SOCA-Charlottesville Classic teams combined efforts to win the Skyline Club Soccer League Club Championship for a record eleventh consecutive season. The Club Championship is determined by points earned by each club based on the placement of teams in each division.
Leading the way, three SOCA-Charlottesville squads claimed first place in their respective divisions: U12 Girls, U14 Girls White and the U15 Boys. Additionally, Charlottesville based Classic teams took two second place finishes and four third place finishes.
SOCA-Charlottesville amassed 87 points in the overall standings, outpacing the nearest competitor by 42 points.
SOCA-Charlottesville’s domination in the Skyline League Classic competition is a function of both quality and quantity. The club has a large number of teams entered in the Classic level, and the teams typically perform well in league play. The breadth and depth of success is a testament to the committed players and families, devoted coaches, and a club structure supporting player development through multiple levels of play.
At the Premier level, only the SOCA-Augusta U12 Girls topped their division, with SOCA-Charlottesville placing three teams in the second slot in their respective grouping.
Valley AFC won the Premier Club Championship with 108 points and a 17 point margin over second place New River United.
Skyline league play will resume with a fresh spring season, beginning in early March.
To view full league standings, follow this link: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline/standings/
SOCA Travel teams continued to collect tournament hardware over the November 9-11 weekend. The Elite Girls teams traveled to the Bethesda Premier Cup in Maryland where three squads claimed championship crowns.
The U18/19 Girls Elite topped their bracket over teams from Pittsburg, New York City and Central Pennsylvania.
The U16 Girls Elite won their group by besting teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Canada.
In a championship final match, the U14 Girls Elite won over CCL rival Herndon, after topping their qualifying group consisting of squads from New York State, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
At the Roanoke Kroger Cup, two SOCA-Augusta teams won championship titles. The U13 Boys Premier beat the host Roanoke Star 2-0 in their final match and U11 Girls Premier topped SVU by the same 2-0 margin in their championship game.
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In CCL competition, SOCA Elite teams are currently top of the table among the 17 member clubs. In the combined standings, SOCA is edging out Beach FC by a one point margin. The SOCA boys are in first place, ahead of Beach, while the SOCA girls are in second place trailing the same Beach FC.
About half of all league games have been played at this point. The U19-U16 teams will compete in showcase events in December and February, with the younger teams completing their seasons in the spring.
At present, four SOCA Elite teams are at the top of their age group standings: U14 Boys, U16 Boys, U18 Boys, U19 Boys and U15 Girls.
SOCA’s Elite teams traveled to Roanoke on Sunday, September 23, where despite wet conditions that have plagued the region, all matches proceeded. The energy on the fields was high as players released the pent up desire to actively compete. Recent continued wet conditions have caused field closings throughout the state, and the relief of getting out to play was palpable among the contestants.
Host Roanoke Star made a few early morning field assignment changes to better accommodate the matches, but the day went off without further complications from weather or field conditions.
The visiting SOCA teams were excited to play and let go their energies by posting 14 wins and one tie against three losses on the day. Kudos to the Star for persevering and allowing the matches to take place after days of frustrating weather throughout the region.
SOCA Elite squads are scheduled to be on the road at DC Stoddert next Sunday, September 30.
SOCA-Charlottesville Premier and Classic teams amassed the points for a run-away title within their respective Club Championships in the spring Skyline Club Soccer League competition.
Each season an overall club champion is crowned at both the Premier and Classic level, determined by points earned by the teams in each of the age group divisions. SOCA Charlottesville teams placed consistently well in all divisions, resulting in an accumulation of points well ahead of the competition. For a description of the championships, follow this link: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline-league/champions/
At the Premier level, SOCA-Charlottesville U12 Girls and U14 Girls were division champions, with the U13 Girls finishing in second spot in their group. The Charlottesville U12 Boys finished tied for second in their tightly contested division. The SOCA-Augusta U13 Boys and U12 Girls claimed second place finishes. SOCA-Charlottesville Premier accumulated a winning margin of 28 points over runners up CVU.
At the Classic level the SOCA-Charlottesville U12 Boys White and the U12 Girls White squads were division winners, while the U13 Boys Blue, U12 Girls Blue and U13 Girls Classic all finished in the silver spot. SOCA Classic outpaced the nearest club in overall standings by 21 points.
Special credit is due to all the players, coaches and supporting families for their efforts throughout the spring campaign. The depth and breadth of SOCA’s success in both the Charlottesville and Augusta region is a testament to the commitment demonstrated by all participants.
To view all standings, go here: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline/standings/
The SOCA U18 Boys Elite team has advanced to the Eastern Regional League championship playoff round by virtue of three clear victories over the long weekend of April 27-29. The SOCA team secured a spot in the playoffs, where they will face Baltimore Celtic in semi-final action on May 12, in Delaware.
The local Elites concluded their Eastern Regional League round robin play with a 1-0 win over Virginia rival Braddock Road on Sunday, May 6 at the Charlottesville High School stadium.
In their opening April 27th game of the showcase-style weekend, SOCA pasted the #1 nationally ranked (via GotSoccer point system) STA-MUSC from New Jersey with a resounding 5-1 score line. With the matched tied 1-1 at half-time, Coach Dan Ensley made minor adjustments and inspired his troops to a four goal second half onslaught. The win built confidence for the remainder of the weekend’s competition.
In the Saturday, April 28 match, SOCA ran out a 4-0 win over Arundel SA from Maryland. Protecting a narrow 1-0 lead at the interval, the SOCA squad turned in a complete, well rounded performance by pumping in three second half goals, demonstrating control of the match.
In the concluding game of the weekend, on Sunday, April 29th SOCA needed to win to gain admission to the semi-final round. The boys put together a solid, convincing 3-0 win over the energetic Lehigh Valley United from Pennsylvania.
SOCA will now have the chance to extract revenge against the defending national champion Baltimore Celtic team who topped SOCA for the Region 1 crown last year. Winners of the ERL semi-finals will meet on Sunday, May 13 while the losers will meet in a consolation match on the same day. The outcome of the final weekend matches will determine which teams advance to the Region 1 championships, held in late June at the Virginia Soccer Training Center, Fredericksburg, VA.
Follow this link to view all ERL results and standings: http://events.gotsport.com/events/results.aspx?EventID=61319&Gender=Boys&Age=18
The SOCA U18 Boys Elite team faced steep challenges in Eastern Regional League play over the March 29-31 time period, and came away with two key wins and a single loss in the three day event.
The Eastern Regional League is a highly selective program operated to provide top quality matches among the most competitive teams in the region, from Maine to Virginia. Teams apply for the opportunity to play in a series of competitions in the spring season, with top finishers included in the Region 1 Championships later in the summer.
As U17 VYSA State Cup champions and U18 State Cup finalists, this group is well-accustomed to difficult matches and high-achieving opponents. With the team gathering for a few essential spring training sessions under Coach Dan Ensley prior to the match event, they built upon acquired experiences to start the weekend with a convincing 4-0 win over the Baltimore Bays on Thursday, with goals provided by Andrew Weber (2), Daniel Starr and Kyle Lehnert.
The Friday match saw the locals lose 0-1 to Lower Marion from Pennsylvania, on a late game goal.
Saturday’s match was a 2-0 win over GPS from western New York State, on goals from Daniel Starr and Brandon Mahon. The results leave the SOCA standing in second place in the top bracket, Elite-Blue, with four matches remaining.
View results and standings here: https://home.gotsoccer.com/rankings/event.aspx?EventID=61319&GroupID=660935
Three of the remaining matches will be played April 27-29 in Dover, Delaware, with the final match to be scheduled by the involved clubs.
SOCA Classic squads from the Charlottesville region ran away with the Classic Club Championship among Skyline Club Soccer League competitors, outpacing nearest rival, second place Orange Soccer Association, by 28 points. The Championship is determined by the cumulative points earned across all divisions by the various member clubs.
SOCA Classic teams have now won nine consecutive Classic Club Championships. Look here for a history of Classic and Premier champions: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline-league/champions/
SOCA-Cville Boys U12 Classic Blue claimed top spot in their division, followed by their hometown neighbors, Classic White in second place. The SOCA-Cville Classic U13 Boys had a similar finish in their division, with the Charlottesville White squad topping the Charlottesville Blue team by only three points in the division standings.
Three other second place finishes (U15 Boys Blue, U12 Girls White and U16 Girls) were instrumental in accumulating the overall points necessary to outdistance the competition.
In the Premier Club Championship SOCA’s Charlottesville region teams placed second overall behind Valley AFC with two division champions (U15 Boys and U13 Girls) while SOCA-Augusta topped their High School 2 division.
For complete standings, follow this link to the Skyline Club Soccer League (SCSL) website: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline/standings/
SOCA’s Elite squads closed out the 2016/2017 CCL (Club Campions League) season, by finishing an impressive fourth overall, battling among 16 of the region’s top youth clubs. The local club amassed 182 points across all age group divisions, U12-U19, boys and girls. Finishing in the top four in CCL is a remarkable accomplishment given the strong competition from excellent clubs throughout Virginia and Maryland.
To succeed in the overall CCL club standings requires comprehensive quality throughout. Each Elite team earns points by virtue of their placement within their age group division. SOCA’s Elite boys finished second overall, only trailing Arlington by three points. The SOCA Elite girls were not far off the pace with a fifth place finish overall. The combined total put SOCA among rarefied company in a league known for its state-wide dominance.
“We are the over-achieving small market club”, said Bill Mueller, SOCA’s Director of Soccer. “Our success comes down to several linked parts; committed and talented players, great support from our families, quality coaching throughout the club, an integrated development model, comprehensive programming, and valuable relationships with our peer clubs. The kind of success we have results from years of thoughtful efforts by a great many people. We have the smallest population base in the CCL, yet we manage to pool and harness our resources to good effect. The staff and Board are very proud of our teams and players, and we look forward to continued success each season.”
For more info on the CCL, view here: http://www.clubchampionsleague.com/
SOCA-Charlottesville claimed both the Premier and Classic spring season club championship crowns in the Skyline Club Soccer League competition. The Charlottesville-based squads earned 48 points to outpace CVU, who finished with 43 points. SOCA last won the Premier division club championship in 2010, so the long wait was greeted with excitement by the club.
At the Classic level, SOCA-Charlottesville remained dominant, far outpacing the nearest rival by amassing 87 club points.
At the Premier level, Charlottesville squads won age group division titles at U12 Boys, U15 Boys and U14 Girls. In the Classic division, SOCA-Charlottesville swept by finishing first in all four age group divisions.
The results indicate SOCA’s comprehensive quality, breadth and depth. Winning the Skyline league club championship requires consistency across several ages and levels. SOCA continues to set the regional standard for quality across all programs.
“We’re very proud of all our players and teams”, says Bill Mueller, SOCA Director of Soccer. “The coaches have a done a great job and the parents and families have been supportive throughout. Our Premier and Classic programs are essential to serving the community fully, and providing a comprehensive development pathway for all our players. We’re very pleased with the results and know that the favorable results are the end product of a comprehensive development plan.”
View league champion history here: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline-league/champions/
View spring season standings, here: https://www.socaspot.org/skyline/standings/