Five SOCA Elite teams pushed through to the VYSA State Cup semi-finals after a busy day of Cup action on Saturday, October 14.  SOCA had eight teams battling in the quarterfinal round and with five of them advancing to claim coveted Final Four spots the club has demonstrated its prowess.

Five matches in the statewide championship competition were hosted by SOCA at the Charlottesville High School stadium.  The U18 Girls Elite kicked off the day at 10:00 am, where the locals enjoyed home field advantage and set the tone for the day by beating the visiting Virginia Rush 3-1.  The U18’s will face Loudoun in the next round.

The U17 Girls Elite went next at 12:00 noon and dropped a heart breaker in penalty kicks to a tough Arlington squad.

In the ensuing 2:00 pm match, the U15 Girls Elite picked up the earlier winning thread and ran out a convincing 4-0 win over Arlington.  The U15’s will face #3 seed Crush in the penultimate round.

At 4:00 pm, the U18 Boys ran into a Roanoke buzz saw and fell 0-4, ending their Cup campaign.

In the 6:00 pm closing match, SOCA’s winning ways returned as the U15 Boys Elite squeezed past visiting Loudoun 3-2, to advance to the semi-finals where they will face #2 seed and CCL rival LMVSC.

Three teams hit the road to conduct their State Cup business away from home, and two teams earned wins to advance in the knock-out competition.  The U16 Boys Elite put together a comprehensive winning display in their 4-1 win over Virginia Beach City FC.  They will face Arlington in the semi-final.

The U16 Girls Elite squad won a nail biter against a determined Fredericksburg FC host, and came away with the 1-0 win to advance to meet Beach FC.  The U17 Boys Elite dropped to Loudoun, eliminating them from further play.

In the U15-U19 Cup brackets, a total of 40 teams remain in the competition, with SOCA providing five of those contestants.  The semi-finals will be heavily populated by CCL teams, making for familiar foes and demonstrating the strength of the top regional league.

The VYSA State Cup semi-finals are scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 27 at the Virginia Soccer Training Center in Fredericksburg.  The championship finals are slated for November 4, also at the VSTC.