U14-U19 NorCal State Division Semifinals Recap

While there are still two matchups left to play, for the most part, the matchups in the NorCal Premier Soccer State Cup finals are set for the State Division after a thrilling Saturday of soccer in Lathrop.

It was a day of excitement and quality soccer as team’s battled to get one step closer to the immortality that comes with winning the State Cup — those left in the competition will get a chance to do so next weekend at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

Of the 18 decided finalists in the State Division, 11 different clubs are represented, with the story of the day being Placer United sending five of six of their semifinalists to the finals, three of which were won on penalty shootouts.

Association Football Club, California Odyssey, and FC Bay Area Surf each qualified for two different finals, while Clovis Crossfire, FC Sporting Sacramento, Los Gatos United, Monterey County Soccer, MVLA, PSV Union, and Walnut Creek Surf all advanced a team to the finals.

Meanwhile, Marin FC has two teams left in the semifinals, which are to be played midweek, against San Juan SC and PSV Union.

Here are recaps for all the action in the State Division:

U14

U14 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	IR Academy		1-2		Los Gatos United
In a tight affair in which both sides had a number of chances to change the game, Los Gatos United went up via a goal from Elleser Palafox before the club doubled the lead from the spot late in the second half. While up 2-0, Los Gatos conceded a goal from IR's Malsum Ghani to make things interesting, but were ultimately able to see out the result and book a place in the final.
U14 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	MVLA		2-3		Association Football Club
In this semifinal matchup between Bay Area rivals MVLA and Association Football Club, it seemed that whenever one team took the advantage, the other came right back to answer almost immediately. Association Football Club led 1-0 at half thanks to a striek from Lev Jenzeh but MVLA's Michael Montoya equalized right after the break. AFC's Emmanuel Harris again put the club ahead shortly thereafter only for Montoya to equalize off the ensuing kickoff. Ultimately, AFC found the winner through Ibrahim Rashad, whose strike took his side to the final.
U14 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	Stanislaus United		1-1 (Placer advance on penalties)		Placer United
Despite both Stanislaus United and Placer United being capable of scoring seemingly at will, this game was deadlocked until the 66th minute in which Stanislaus scored the opener. While they awaited victory, Placer equalized in the second minute of stoppage time thanks to a goal from Giovanna Costanzo, sending the match into overtime. From there it remained scoreless and Placer prevailed during the eighth round of penalties.
U14 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	North Coast Futbol Club		1-4		MVLA
An early goal from Brianna Jurasek gave North Coast FC the advantage just nine minutes into the game, but after that, it was all MVLA as Saara Lahtela and Maya Wastie both scored braces to help MVLA reach the final in an epic comeback win.

U15

U15 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	Clovis Crossfire		1-0		TSP FC
Sometimes soccer games are decided by just a single goal and this was true of the Central Valley derby in the U15 Boys State Division semifinal. Noah Naranjo scored just six minutes into the game and then neither side was able to hit the back of the net for the rest of the match.
U15 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	Monterey County Soccer		3-0		Sunnyvale Alliance
Monterey County Soccer moved closer to their aspirations for winning a league and cup double Saturday by defeating Sunnyvale Alliance 3-0. Hector Garcia scored the winner just after the break before MCS doubled their lead shortly thereafter. While Sunnyvale attempted to get back in the game, shortly before time, Gerardo Mendoza-Virgen finished off the Alliance.
U15 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	Placer United		2-1		PSV Union
Just seven minutes into this crucial semifinal tie, Placer United's Ella Atherton scored to give her club a 1-0 advantage, a huge one when considered that neither Placer nor PSV Union allow many goals. However, PSV's Genevieve Cantu equalized roughly halfway through the second half, giving life to PSV. Only a late penalty won the match, as Taylor Grover hit the back of the net just a few seconds after a Placer player was fouled in the box.
U15 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	FC Bay Area Surf		2-1		IR Academy
Three time State Cup champions IR Academy started off the game strong by taking the lead in the first half through a long range strike from Janelli Villagran. However, before the break, Milla Lee equalized to make the halftime score 1-1. At things appeared to be headed for overtime, FC Bay Area Surf scored the winner at the last gasp, with Siena White doing the damage to send her squad to the final.

U16

U16 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	San Jose Surf		1-3		FC Sporting Sacramento
For 60 minutes of this semifinal, it appeared as if San Jose Surf would cruise to a victory after Jesus Alvarez Valtierra scored 27 minutes into the game. However, for the second straight week, FC Sporting Sacramento rallied for a late win by scoring three goals in the last 20 minutes of the game. Artem Vovk got both the equalizer and the winner before Joel Bradley iced the game in the 79th minute.
U16 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	Santa Clara Sporting		1-2		Association Football Club
Santa Clara Sporting took an early lead in this game as Oswaldo Navarro scored just nine minutes in to put Association Football Club on their heels. However, AFC pressed for an equalizer and finally found one in the 56th minute through Charles Votel. With the game seemingly headed for overtime, AFC astonishingly won it at the last minute, this time due to a strike from Alec Balica.
U16 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	PSV Union		1-1 (PSV Union advance on penalties)		Placer United
A first half goal from both sides made it appear as if the floodgates would open in a matchup between PSV Union and Placer United, but after the 19th minutes, no one could hit the back of the net until the dreaded penalty shootout. Ashley Boyd put PSV up in the seventh minute before Avery Wu equalized 12 minutes later. In the eventual shootout, PSV prevailed and advanced to the final.
U16 Girls State Semifinal
5/11	San Juan Soccer Club		7:00 p.m. @ Davis Legacy Soccer Complex		Marin FC
While this match won’t be played until Wednesday, it should be a good one when San Juan Soccer Club and Marin FC meet at Davis Legacy Soccer Complex. Both sides are coming off big wins, with San Juan downing Palo Alto SC via a 3-1 scoreline and Marin dominating Central California Soccer Alliance in a 5-0 victory.

U17

U17 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	California Odyssey		2-2 (Odyssey advance on penalties)		Sacramento United
In a matchup between two perennial powerhouses, Bryce Esteves scored in just the fourth minute for California Odyssey to put his team on top before another California player doubled the lead 22 minutes later. From there, Sacramento's David Raphael got his club back in the game with a free kick goal before Colin Davey equalized. Eventually, however, Odyssey prevailed in the penalty shootout.
U17 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	Davis Legacy		0-1		Walnut Creek Surf
In an absolute defensive slugfest, neither Davis Legacy nor Walnut Creek Surf could find the back of the net for the majority of the 90 minutes. When Walnut Creek did score, it didn't come until the 67th minute, prompting Davis to battle for an equalizer that never came.
U17 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	Diablo Valley Wolves		0-2		FC Bay Area Surf
Kori Pickelle scored just one minute into the match to give FC Bay Area Surf an early lead over Diablo Valley Wolves, who made it to this stage of the competition thanks to a Friday night quarterfinals victory. While neither team scored for a while thereafter, Surf clinched the match in the 54th minute to earn a spot in the final.
U17 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	Placer United		1-1 (Placer advance on penalties)		Ceres Earthquake
After two goals in the first 15 minutes of this game between Placer United and Ceres Earthquake, neither side really threatened until the match went to penalties. Chelyn Ackerman opened the scoring for Placer just eight minutes in before Ceres equalized due to an own goal in the 15th minute. Placer then prevailed in penalties to reach the final.

U19

U19 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	California Odyssey		2-1		Davis Legacy
Despite both California Odyssey and Davis Legacy being free-scoring teams and the pair trading goals in the first 12 minutes, this match remained deadlocked after the full 90. It wasn't until Ernesto Agullera Gil curled in a corner kick in the 93rd minute that this tie was decided as California moved onto the final.
U19 Boys State Semifinal
5/7	Placer United		3-2		De Anza Force
For much of the Placer United - De Anza Force matchup, just a single goal looked to decide the game as Pedro Salinas scored just 12 minutes into the match. However, a late flurry of goals made everything chaotic, the first coming from a Benjamin Siber strike in the 67th minute before Bernard Vareskic brought one back for De Anza seven minutes later. Placer sealed the deal with a Force own goal in the 84th before the Bay Area club scored at the last gasp to make it 3-2.
U19 Girls State Semifinal
5/7	Folsom Lake Surf		0-0 (Placer United advance on penalties)		Placer United
Just a few weeks after Placer United defeated Folsom Lake Surf 3-0, neither team could find a goal in regular or overtime, necessitating a penalty shootout. Placer then prevailed in that shootout, the first of four the club would be involved in on the day.
U19 Girls State Semifinal
5/10	PSV Union		6:15 p.m. @ El Camino Park		Marin FC
The only quarterfinals match to go to penalties out of any girls State Division games involved ECNL side Marin FC, who earned their spot in the semifinals by defeating California Magic on kicks from the mark after neither side could find the back of the net over 100 minutes of action. Marin will face PSV Union, who, in scoring five goals against Santa Cruz County Breakers, accounted for the most goals of anyone in the quarterfinals.