Twenty-eight teams win US Club Soccer New Jersey Cup titles
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. | Twenty-eight teams were awarded 2017 New Jersey Cup titles, May 6-7 at North Brunswick Community Park in North Brunswick, N.J. The event was the largest edition of the annual state championship event yet with a record 1,011 participating teams – up from 934 in 2016.
The 2017 New Jersey Cup featured 10-U through 18/19-U boys and girls age groups. Last weekend served as the culmination of a two-month long journey for teams that advanced through the single-elimination format.
Super Group winners of the 13-U through 17-U boys and girls age groups qualified directly to the National Cup XVI Finals, which will be held July 21-24 in Westfield, Ind. Premier Group winners of the same age groups earned advancement to a National Cup XVI Regional of their choosing – the closest being the Mid-Atlantic Regional, June 26-29 in Somerset, N.J.
| AGE GROUP: | BOYS: | GIRLS: |
| 10-U: | Ironbound SC ’07 Red-Raiders | PDA Heat |
| 11-U: | Match Fit Academy FC ’06 Heat | PDA Wolves |
| 12-U: | Watchung Hills NJ Elite ’05 PSV | TSF Academy ‘05 |
| 13-U (Super Group): | Real Jersey FC ‘04 | SDFC ’04 Yellow |
| 13-U (Premier Group): | PDA Shore ’04 Thiago | Washington Township SC Comets |
| 14-U (Super Group): | TSF Academy ’03 Blue | FC Copa Academy ’03 Black |
| 14-U (Premier Group): | FC Copa Academy ’03 Black South | Princeton SA ’03 NPL |
| 15-U (Super Group): | NJ Stallions Academy Juve ‘03 | NJ Wildcats Averbuch NPL |
| 15-U (Premier Group): | Monroe Township SC ‘02 | Washington United Fever ‘02 |
| 16-U (Super Group): | Ironbound SC ’01 Red-Elite | Princeton SA IGFA ’01 NPL |
| 16-U (Premier Group): | Northern Valley Knights | SJEB Rush ’01 Premier Blue |
| 17-U (Super Group): | TSF Academy ‘00 | FC Copa Academy ’00 Black |
| 17-U (Premier Group): | Kearny United Reds | FC Copa Academy ’00 Red |
| 18/19-U: | NJCSA Marlboro Warriors Blue | FC Copa Academy ‘98/’99 Black |
The state championship event was tightly contested, evidenced by nine semifinal games on Saturday being decided by penalty kicks.
New Jersey Cup champions are perennial contenders at US Club Soccer’s National Cup Finals. During the National Cup XV Finals in Colorado last summer, the 13-U Boys Premier Group – Jackson Red Bulls – and 17-U Boys Super Group – Marlboro SA Warriors Blue – national champions both qualified through the 2016 New Jersey Cup.
In 2015, the 14-U Girls Super Group champion of the National Cup XIV Finals – International Girls Futbol Academy 00/01 – earned its spot through the 2015 New Jersey Cup. And the year before that, the 13-U and 17-U Boys Super Group national champions – TSF Academy and Washington Lightning, respectively – clinched berths in the National Cup XIII Finals via the 2014 New Jersey Cup.
