Spirit United Win EPYSA State Cup Title

On May 19th, the Spirit United Sol (U12 Boys) successfully defended their 2011 State Cup championship by winning the 2012 EPYSA State Cup title! The Sol captured the title by winning four games in a row over very tough in-state competition. Area residents Ryan Wallace, Phillip Bell, and Kevin McFarland played a large role in the team’s success during their championship run.

The title included wins over FC Europa (2-1), Danubia SC Celtic Elite (4-0), and Upper Makefield-Newtown SC Patriots Red (2-1). The tournament culminated with an exciting victory over a highly rated PA Classic Academy (2-0) in front of a cheering crowd at The United Sports Training Center in Thorndale, PA.

Coach Ciaran Barrett remarked, “It was a team goal set in August to defend our State Cup title, and I was proud of how all 17 players remained focused and driven on that goal all year. I am extremely proud of these boys”.

This tremendous achievement capped off a phenomenal year for the Sol team which began during the summer when the Sol made in to the Finals of two early season tournaments. In September, the Sol began Delco Soccer league play, arguably one of the most competitive soccer leagues in the nation with seven out the eleven teams nationally ranked in 2011. In the Delco regular season, the Sol team went 7-1-2 which earned them a second place seed in the Delco Playoffs. In semi-finals, the Sol beat Fewster; the #1 ranked in the nation, and then went on to celebrate victory over the West Chester United Predators 3-1 in the championship. In the spring 2012 the Sol continued their winning ways at the DTS Tournament in NJ with convincing victories over several top ranked New Jersey teams.

The 2012 PA State Cup win propels the Sol into the USYSA Region I Cup which is held in Lancaster this year between June 28th and July 3rd. This 5 day tourney consists of the State Cup winners from each state in Region 1. Region 1 consists of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Mass., Connecticut, Rhode Island, NY, NJ, PA, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.