Eastern PA State Cup finals a nod to the past and a look to the future

Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer held its first of two state cup final days at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex for the first time on Saturday and despite the intermittent rain all day, the event was an entertaining day with nods to the past and future of the competition pitting youth teams across the state in three annual cup competitions.

Reading Rage repeated as double winners with their 2009 and 2007 girls teams winning on fields next to each other while FC Delco’s 2008 National Academy League team lifted the club’s first perpetual trophy since 2011, Vereinigung Erzgebirge SC brought back two more state Presidents Cup trophies to their clubhouse, Yardley Makefield Soccer added three more state cup crowns and the little team that could Central Susquehanna Phoenix made it back-to-back Presidents Cup wins.

One of the more thrilling games of the day saw Reading Rage Pugh and Penn FC Youth trading goals through extra time in a goal decided on a lofted Ellie Leffler shot for Rage minutes after Penn FC Youth had equalized in a 9-goal thriller. Another 9-goal match saw Mattie Williams lead Warrington SC Lightning to a 6-3 win in the U16 girls Presidents Cup final over Penn Fusion Academy Reds with a hat trick and two assists. A U-12 Lower Merion derby between Rovers Red and Rovers Navy produced 9 goals a second half comeback/overtime victory in the U12 Presidents Cup final while HVAA coach Chris Tomarelli coached his daughter’s Springfield SC team to a win over HVAA Lightning in the U-15 girls Presidents Cup final.

Lower Merion 007s pulled off quite a late equalizer in regulation when goalkeeper Noah Katz’s long free kick found the head of Andrew Laudenbach to send their U-17 Presidents Cup final with the Vereinigung Erzgebirge Mountaineers to overtime. Ethan Delgado’s very late winner for FC Delco off an assist from Steve Ruiz was another goal for the highlight reel and delivered FC Delco their first Werner Fricker Sr. Cup (the perpetual trophy for the U-16 boys NCS winner) since 2005.

1776 United FC’s U-14 girls came back from being a down a goal to Warrington SC United to win 2-1 on goals from Maddie Fanning and Kate Kalinchak in the NCS final and the club’s U-18 girls capped the evening with a 2-1 comeback win over Iron Valley in the Presidents Cup final.

On the day, 19 different clubs had state cup winners and 7 clubs had more than one team win. YMS and Keystone FC led the way with three winners each while VE, 1776 United FC, FC Delco, Reading Rage and Penn Fusion Academy had two teams in the winners circle.

Repeat winners on the day included Reading Rage Press (2023) and Reading Rage Pugh (2023), Quaker Elite Magicians (2022), YMS Premier Spirit (2021, 2022), Central Susquehanna Phoenix (2023) and Hulmeville SC Demons (Challenge Cup 2023).

Saturday’s cup winners all receive invites to the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships (June 27-July 3) and the US Youth Soccer Eastern Presidents Cup (June 14-18), which will both be held in West Virginia.

WSFS Bank Sportsplex will also be the host of state cup finals on Sunday, June 2 when the U-18 and U-19 NCS State Cup champions and U9-U19 Challenge Cup winners are all crowned.

NCS State Cup Final Results

U-12 Girls: Penn Fusion Academy 4-0 Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals
U-12 Boys: FC Delco 2-0 Keystone FC
U-13 Girls: Yardley Makefield Soccer 2-0 Hex FC
U-13 Boys: Keystone FC 2-1 Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals
U-14 Girls: 1776 United FC 2-1 Warrington SC
U-14 Boys: Yardley Makefield Soccer 3-1 Capital Area SA
U-15 Girls: Reading Rage 3-1 Penn Alliance Select
U-15 Boys: Quaker Elite 2-1 Yardley Makefield Soccer
U-16 Girls: Yardley Makefield Soccer 2-1 Penn FC Youth
U-16 Boys: FC Delco 1-0 Yardley Makefield Soccer
U-17 Girls: Reading Rage 5-4 Penn FC Youth
U-17 Boys: Penn Fusion Academy 2-1 Keystone FC

Presidents Cup Final Results

U-12 Girls: Hex FC 3-2 Yardley Makefield Soccer
U-12 Boys: Lower Merion Rovers Navy 6-3 Lower Merion Rovers Red
U-13 Girls: Lehigh Valley United 1-0 Sporting PA
U-13 Boys: Hulmeville SC 2-0 Lancaster Elite
U-14 Girls: Central Susquehanna Phoenix 3-2 PA Mutiny Gold
U-14 Boys: Steel United PA 2-0 Keystone FC
U-15 Girls: Springfield SC 2-1 Huntington Valley AA
U-15 Boys: Southern Chester County Dragons 2-1 Hulmeville SC
U-16 Girls: Warrington SC 6-3 Penn Fusion Academy
U-16 Boys: Keystone FC 3-2 Dillsburg Area SC
U-17 Girls: Western Lehigh United 3-2 Warrington SC
U-17 Boys: Vereinigung Erzgebirge 2-1 Lower Merion SC
U-18 Girls: 1776 United FC 2-1 Iron Valley United
U-18 Boys: Vereinigung Erzgebirge 4-1 Lower Mac Soccer Academy
U-19 Girls: Keystone FC 2-1 Towamencin Youth
U-19 Boys: Lionville SC 2-1 Yardley Makefield Soccer