With over 2,300 teams competing, the SOCAL State Cup is one of the biggest soccer tournaments in California. With intense anticipation and hard-fought training yearly, this is usually one of the most important tournaments for a team. It highlights the rich diversity and competition at its finest and allows each player to showcase their skills. Scouts, coaches, and players come to watch games from all corners of the nation, the best of the best teams. It recognizes which teams pour their hearts into the game and show true IQ and technique as they take their one chance to put their team up on the board and take the trophy home.
With each team driving from all places around the state, locations and times vary as the tournament carries on. Places consist of huge sports complexes like Galway Downs in Temecula, Silverlakes, Oceanside, etc., all in fun and big cities around California, giving soccer teams a chance to bond and stay in hotels. The chemistry among players dramatically helps them on the field as it enables them to work and pass the ball around without any hesitation.
As a US Club-sanctioned event, SOCAL State Cup 2024 kicks off in January for the Younger age groups (2017 – 2010) and in March for the Older age groups (2009 – 2005). All 7v7 and 9v9 Super Cup division champions will qualify for the California Cup Championship played against the NorCal State Cup champions at Silver Lakes in March 2024. The winners and finalists of the boys and girls U13 – U19 Super Cup divisions qualify for the top division of play in the US Club’s National Cup Finals in Denver, CO. For this year’s 2024, rain was a dramatic reason for the many awaited weeks postponed to this, which resulted in players not being able to play or on different teams by now, due to this problem the outcome and scores of games were high-flown.
Mateo Joerg, a student here at Rio, stated, “We were doing great for most of the tournament, and were playing the last game that determined if we went to quarter-finals in the round of 16 for our age group. That day we had to get up at 4:30 and we were tired from the games we had the day before. We lost 6-3 after a great game the day before. We were not mentally ready.” Another, more fortunate student, Gene Sanchez, says, “We won and are moving on to the quarter-finals, I’m not surprised, since we are playing at a low level.” Experience and level of gameplay range all around, which is what makes soccer so beautiful because the variety as well as the types of teams, add to the suspense a nerves fluttering around as a player, and the fans watching add to the excitement.
At the end of the day, the SOCAL State Cup is more than a game, but is a way to continue the legacy and inspire future generations. Giving a chance to people to make memories that last a lifetime. The fans are deep into the dramatic suspense of the games that at any moment could make surprising turns left and right. This is what makes the game enjoyable and exciting as love for soccer grows around the world.