Virginia State Cup matches get underway with few upsets in first round

By Jimmy LaRoue

Virginia State Cup games got underway as road construction in Hampton Roads forced the movement of a number of games.

In the opening games of the Under-16 Boys bracket, Richmond Kickers Elite defeated VYS Premier White 2-1 and will face top seed Beach FC 96B Red on Saturday in Virginia Beach.

In other U-16 boys games, Herndon United advanced with an overtime 3-2 win over Fredericksburg Phoenix Orange, moving on to face fifth seed Virginia Rush U-16 Nike.

BRYC 96 Elite Blue defeated FCSC United 96 Black 6-1 and will play SOCA Lightning, while PWSI Courage 96 Red defeated CUSC Fusion 2-0 and will move on to face third seed Arlington Strikers Red. Richmond Strikers Elite moved onto the second round with a 3-0 win over the Alexandria Titans. The Strikers Elite will play Stafford Revolution 96 Blue.

In the only game of the U-15 bracket last weekend, Roanoke Star U-15 Boys Elite scored a 10-0 win over Augusta FC 97BR. Roanoke Star faces top seed FC Richmond Magic 97 in the next round.

Augusta FC had better success in the U-17 boys’ bracket, as its 95BR team pulled out a 2-1 win over Beach FC 95B Black. The Augusta FC 95BR squad faces top seed Loudoun 95B Red in the next round.

One upset highlighted the U-18 boys bracket, as fifth seed BRYC 94 Elite fell 2-1 to Beach FC 94B Black.

In other U-18 Boys State Cup opening round matches:

• Fredericksburg Phoenix 3-1 over McLean Hotspur White (Next round: No. 1 PWSI Courage 94 Red vs. Fredericksburg Phoenix Orange)

• Chesterfield United FC 94B ASL Academy 6-0 over FCSC United 95 Black, No. 8 SOCA Lightning 4-1 over FASA Hotspur 94 Elite (Next round: Chesterfield United FC 94B ASL Academy at SOCA Lightning)

• Richmond Kickers Elite 1-0 over Reston 94 Rowdies (Next round: Richmond Kickers Elite at Beach FC 94B Black)

• Loudoun 94B Red 2-0 over Virginia Rush Swoosh U-18B, ABGC Knights FC 5-0 over Central Virginia United U-18 Boys White (Next round: Loudoun 94B Red at ABGC Knights FC)

• Roanoke Star U-18 Elite 3-1 over ABGC Annandale United 94 Blue (Next round: No. 3 ABGC United Force vs. Roanoke Star U-18 Elite)

• Richmond Strikers Elite 3-2 over Virginia Rush Nike, No. 6 Virginia Legacy SC Wizards 1-0 over FC Richmond Magic 94 (Next round: Richmond Strikers Elite at Virginia Legacy SC Wizards)

• Beach FC U-18 Red Boys 4-2 over Alexandria Storm, LMVSC Patriots Red 2-1 in PKs over SYC Titans (Next round: LMVSC Patriots Red at Beach FC U-18 Red Boys)

• Chesterfield United SC Burn 3-1 over SYA Alliance (Next round: Chesterfield United SC Burn at No. 2 Reston FC 94

All of the boys groups will be in action this weekend, and any games scheduled for the south Hampton Roads area will go on as scheduled and will not be moved, as there is no construction work scheduled for either the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel or the James River Bridge, two of the three major arteries to get to and from the Peninsula/South Hampton Roads area.

In girls’ play, a full slate of games got State Cup play underway, with one upset among the top eight seeds in the U-15 bracket, as No. 3 Arlington Rowdies Red fell 1-0 to Roanoke Star Elite U-15 Girls.

Here are the results from U-16 girls play. U-17 girls did not play over the weekend. In U-18 girls State Cup action, Arlington Explosion White defeated Chesterfield United 94G ASL Academy 3-0, Roanoke Star U-18 Elite 12-0 over Augusta FC 94GR, New River United SA 4-1 over Chesapeake United SC. In penalties, FC Richmond Mystix 94 defeated ODFC Clash 4-3, while Central Virginia United shutout FPYC Blue Angels 3-0 and PWSI Courage 94 Red defeated ASC Premier Gold 3-1.

In the girls’ brackets, only the U-17s will play, as the U-15s, U-16s and U-18s will have this coming weekend off.

Here is the upcoming weekend’s game schedule.