NorCal Matchday #7: U13-U14 State Cup Finals

For the first time ever, NorCal Premier Soccer’s U13 and U14 State Cup competitions concluded in April, with four sides being crowned State champions after an exciting final matchday this past Sunday. Four different clubs won State Division titles: Bay Area Surf, California Odyssey, Folsom Lake Surf, and Modesto Ajax United.

Here are your State Division recaps:

U13 Boys State Cup Final
4/27	Bay Area Surf		3-2		Santa Clara Sporting
In a back and forth matchup between Bay Area rivals, Bay Area Surf took a two goal lead before Santa Clara Sporting scored twice to send the game to overtime. There, Pedro Perez hit the back of the net with just three minutes remaining to help Bay Area Surf to a 3-2 victory in the U13 Boys State Cup final. The eventual victors nearly put the game away early with Jorge Lopez scoring in the 17th minute before Alexander Rojas Cruz made it 2-0 20 minutes later. However, second half strikes from Sporting's Kevin Lopez Rodriguez and Max Fink helped set up the dramatic finish.

U13 Girls State Cup Final
4/27	California Odyssey		1-0		SF Aftershocks
For the second straight year, California Odyssey have been crowned State Cup champions, this time after defeating SF Aftershocks in a tense 1-0 affair. While plenty of the action was confined to the middle of the park with both sides featuring strong defensive performances, keepers from both teams were called into action multiple times. In the end, Odyssey's solitary strike was enough to see them lift the trophy and head into the next season looking to three-peat.

U14 Girls State Cup Final
4/27	Modesto Ajax United		2-0		Revolution FC
Revolution FC came into the final having allowed just three goals in four knockout stage games, however it took just one minute for Modesto Ajax United to break through Revolution's impressive defense and score the eventual winning goal of the match. Both sides created chances, but Modesto would be the only team to hit the back of the net for the rest of regulation, ensuring that they'd return to Central California with the trophy in what was a 2-0 victory.

U14 Boys State Cup Final
4/27	Folsom Lake Surf		4-3		Dnamo FC
In perhaps the wildest of all the State Division finals, the U14 Boys State Cup final featured a total of seven goals, with Folsom Lake Surf eventually pulling out a 4-3 victory to prevent Dnamo FC from winning their first ever State Division title. This high-scoring matchup could have gone either way and seemed destined to be decided late after both teams advanced to this stage thanks to penalty kick shootout victories. Eventually, Folsom were able to hit the back of the net one more time than Dnamo in claiming another State Cup title.