Three SOCA Teams Advance to State Cup Semi Finals
Three SOCA Elite teams have qualified for the VYSA State Cup semi-finals by battling through the quarter-final group stage of the state championship competition. The U19 Girls and U17 Girls will be joined by the U17 Boys on Saturday, October 29 at the Virginia Soccer Training Center (VSTC) in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
The VYSA facility will be chock full of top level competition on Saturday, with 40 semi-finalist squads competing in 20 matches, for the right to advance to the finals. The final championship matches will be played on Sunday, November 6 at the VSTC. Of the 40 semi-finalists, 32 hail from the CCL, further indicating that the league consistently represents the highest level of league play in the state. SOCA teams test their mettle weekly against the top competition in the region.
Kicking off at 11:00 am, the U19 Girls (field #3) and U17 Boys (field #5) will get the day started for SOCA, while the U17 Girls (field #4) will complete the club’s activities with a 1:00 pm start.
The U19 Girls began the competition seeded 7th and will face the top seed Braddock Road squad in the round. The SOCA team, led by Coach Fran Lavin, finished second in their quarterfinal group and face a tough task against the defending state cup champs.
Seeded 3rd, the U17 Girls completed a perfect 3-0-0 run in the group stage and will face 8th seeded Virginia Legacy. Coach Dan Ensley is hoping that his team can continue their winning ways and reach the final next week.
Ensley will have a busy day, additionally coaching the U17 Boys, he’ll be facing off against a gritty Beach FC opponent. SOCA owns the third seed and finished second in their qualifying group, while Beach was seeded 8th and finished at the top of their group. There is little to separate the two CCL rivals.
SOCA teams have become consistent contenders for state championships. This year saw the club advance six teams from the U15-U19 age groups to the quarter final level of the Cup competition. SOCA has claimed three state titles in years past and would love to add to that tally over the coming weeks with the current group of three semi-finalists.
For all the State Cup brackets, results and upcoming schedules view the VYSA website here: http://www.vysa.com/statecup/index_E.html
Consider making the short trek to Fredericksburg to cheer on the SOCA teams in their quest for the Cup.
