U-13 State Cup Champions Crowned

While there’s still much to play for in the older age groups of the NorCal Premier Soccer State Cup, a pair of squads were crowned champions of the state’s U-13 division this past weekend at Mary Grogan Park in Modesto.

Both teams captured their titles emphatically, with three goal margins of victory in the final, continuing a trend that saw both EC Real Salinas United 04 and MVLA 04G Barcelona Blue run through their final through games with no real trouble.

On the girls side, MVLA captured the title with a 3-0 victory over Force 04G Pre-ECNL, adding on to a 4-1 quarterfinal victory over San Juan SC Spirits 04 Pre-ECNL and a 4-1 semifinal win against Santa Rosa United 04G Gold.

The victory was something of an upset for MVLA, who began the competition ranked 10th out of 156 total teams, and were the lowest-seeded squad in the final eight.

Meanwhile, on the boys side of the competition, a more-favored squad came out on top, with Salinas originating as the third-ranked team out of 177 in the division, as well as third in the final eight squads.

While not as dominant as MVLA, Salinas had no trouble claiming a 5-2 victory in the final against Sunnyvale Alliance SC 04B Red after a 4-2 semifinal win against Red Star F.C. Central Valley Liberty F.C. 04 and a 3-1 quarterfinal result against SF Glens Evolution SFGE 04B Black