Youth/High School Soccer
Lancaster FC sets sites on McGuire Cup after getting over state cup hump
A pair of set piece goals in a six-minute span in the first half gave Lancaster FC the early momentum they never relinquished in a 3-1 win Sunday morning over North Union United that delivered the club’s first ever Walter Bahr trophy in the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer State Cup U19 boys final.
The historic trophy is one of two the team competing in the ECNL Regional League is after before many of the players on the team head to college.
“It’s been a long journey for these three years when I came in,” head coach Corey Page said. “We got to the quarter final, got knocked out, got to the semifinal, lost on PKs, and this season now with the determination, the fight they’ve got, and the love they have for each other, they were able to win it and it’s an amazing feeling they all deserve.”
Lancaster FC advanced to the final with a lopsided 5-1 win over returning finalists Steel United PA in the semi and had a dominant performance against an organized and hard working North Union United squad. Lancaster FC stretched the lead to 3-0 in the second half but a goal from North Union added some nerve to the game.
Named after U.S. Men’s National Team legend, Philadelphia native and famed Penn State head coach Walter Bahr, the trophy Lancaster FC lifted on the stage outside Subaru Park for the first time is the precursor to an even more historic trophy, the oldest youth trophy in any sport in the country. New to the Eastern Pennsylvania State Cups this year the winners advance directly to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship and the McGuire Cup that dates back to 1935 and is handed out to the U-19 boys champion.
“It’s not just a trophy to us, it’s history,” Page said of Sunday’s state cup victory. “And now we get to go for the McGuire Cup, which is huge for this club. We’re going to enjoy the moment and soak in the experience.”
For playmaker Andrew Jones the state cup win and berth into the national championship offers a chance for another national championship before beginning school at Millersville. Jones won a National Presidents Cup crown with FC Ballyhoo as a guest player in 2023.
“Beginning of the season we didn’t know what to expect but we fought hard worked every single day to get here,” Jones said. “That feeling of winning a national championship, nothing will ever get better than that so I’m going to push myself and push the boys every single day because I want to feel that feeling again with these guys.”
Eastern Pennsylvania, which has the second most McGuire Cup trophies with 10, hasn’t had a team win the trophy awarded to the U-19 boys national championship winner since Lehigh Valley United won it in 2019. PA Dominion made the final in 2023 but fell to Inland Surf on a late penalty. The competition will be held in Salt Lake City in July.
Walt Bahr Trophy Past Winners
2026 – Lancaster FC
2025 – FC Delco
2024 – Hex FC Dominion
2023 – PA Dominion
2022 – CASA United
2021 – Lehigh Valley United-FPA Black
2019 – Lower Merion SC Rats
2018 – Penn Fusion SA
2017 – Penn Fusion SA
2016 – Montgomery United
2015 – Lehigh Valley United
2014 – Montgomery United
2013 – Lehigh Valley United ’93
2012 – YMS Thunder
2011 – Lower Merion SC Velez
2010 – FC Delco Hammerheads
2009 – FC Delco Black
2008 – FC Delco
2007 – Buckingham United
2006 – FC Delco Black IV
