Boys Complete League Cup Makeups
The group stage and quarterfinals of NorCal’s inaugural League Cup competition are now in the books as the boys completed their makeup dates this past weekend at the brand new Placer Valley Soccer Complex in Roseville.
Originally scheduled to be played at the NorCal Fall Boys College Showcase, a rainout forced the postponement of the third group stage match and first knockout round, while the girls were able to complete their matches as scheduled.
The NorCal League Cup began this year back in August as a new competition that included teams from several different youth soccer leagues who usually don’t get the opportunity to play matches against each other.
“It was amazing to have teams from all these different leagues finally get the opportunity to play against each other in a competitive environment,” said NorCal ECNL RL Commissioner Kelcey Chaidez. “Even though some of these teams come from the same city, they aren’t usually given a chance to compete together in any meaningful games.”
For the first year of the League Cup, teams from NorCal’s ECNL RL and NPL as well as the ECNL and MLS Next.
Teams who did well in their respective leagues the previous season qualified for the competition, which features squads from the U15-U19 age groups.
“This is a major initiative that highlights our desire for teams from different platforms to earn the opportunity to play each other,” said NorCal Director of Competitions Daniel Chamberlain. “There is such a high value in all of the teams from these leagues gaining experience playing in knockout competitions. Most high-level teams don’t earn these opportunities enough through just league play–we know that these types of games are an important part of player and team development.”
While the League Cup included dozens of clubs from all across the state, on the boys side, only Folsom Lake Surf, San Juan SC, Santa Rosa United, Silicon Valley Eagles, and Union Sacramento saw two of their sides qualify for the knockout stages.
Now that the quarterfinals are done, all semifinal matchups are set and will take place on May 16, the Saturday of the NorCal Spring College Showcase at Davis Legacy Soccer Complex.
The League Cup will then conclude the following day with all finals scheduled for March 17, also at Davis Legacy.
Additionally, each team that qualified for the inaugural edition earned a spot in the showcase and will play at least one match against another opponent if they are already knocked out of the League Cup.
For more information about the League Cup, click here.
