Thirty-Three Teams Take Home Titles as U11/U12 State Cup Concludes

The younger divisions of the NorCal State Cup are officially in the books for the 2024/25 season after the last 33 divisions were decided this past weekend at Bartholomew Sports Park in Elk Grove and San Juan Soccer Complex in Rancho Cordova.

After the Gold, Silver, and Bronze divisions wrapped up in December, it was finally time for the State, Premier, and Platinum levels to compete in Finals Weekend over the course of two days.

“We’d like to thank every team, coach, and parent for making this past weekend another celebration of soccer,” said NorCal U9-U12 State Cup Coordinator John Stoppelmann. “It was an exciting two days, with several games going down to the wire, and a fun time had by all.”

What began back in the fall with nearly 1,000 teams was down to just 132 entering the weekend, with most teams playing a semifinal matchup Saturday and most winners playing in the final Sunday.

Those who claimed the title in the State Division earned the exclusive right to call themselves NorCal’s true State champions, with Mustang SC (U11 Girls), Bay Area Surf (U11 Boys), San Juan SC (U12 Girls), and FC Fresno Academy (U12 Boys) each taking home the top prize.

Additionally, each finalist in the State Division qualified for next month’s California Cup, a competition that pits the top teams in NorCal against the best from SOCAL Soccer League. That event is scheduled for March 29 and 30 at Davis Legacy Soccer Complex.

For more information on the NorCal State Cup, click here.

Here are your State Division recaps:

U11 Girls State Division
2/23	Mustang SC		4-0		Santa Clara Sporting
Looking for their third straight State Cup championship in three years of being eligible, Mustang SC faced Bay Area rivals Santa Clara Sporting in the U11 Girls State Division final. And for the third straight year, Mustang found their form, with Tatum Johnson hitting for a brace, while Kinleigh Chonjacky and Kennedy Overton each added a strike in a convincing 4-0 victory.

U11 Boys State Division
2/23	Bay Area Surf		3-0		De Anza Force
In what was the definition of an all-around team effort, Bay Area Surf picked up a 3-0 win against De Anza Force to win the U11 Boys State Division this past weekend. Atticus Bowie, Thomas Leitch, and Milan Serratos each hit the back of the net for Surf, while a stout Bay Area defense kept De Anza from scoring throughout the entire 60 minutes.

U12 Girls State Division
2/23	San Juan SC		5-1		California Odyssey
San Juan SC are used to this stage of the competition by this point--in four years of playing in the NorCal State Cup, they've made the final all four times. However, they were looking for their first victory as a 9v9 team after falling in the final one year previously. The Sacramento area side were able to get the job done thanks to braces from Mckinley Dupre and Elise Leatherby, while Avery Bowers also hit the back of the net. Those five strikes were able to more than cancel out the goal Kelly Kuykendall scored for California Odyssey.

U12 Boys State Division
2/23	FC Fresno Academy		3-0		CV Futbol Academy
In this Central Valley derby, FC Fresno Academy were looking to lift the title after losing the final the previous year on penalties. In their way stood CV Futbol Academy, one of the most successful clubs in recent years in the younger ages of the competition. However, Fresno scored early and often, with Allen Villasenor, Mateo Vaca Nieto, and Jordan Lugo all hitting the back of the net in the first 25 minutes of a resounding 3-0 win.