On Sunday Nov 3 Princeton FC U-12 (2008) Boys Porto won the New Jersey Youth Soccer State Presidents Cup. The Porto team joins another two Princeton FC NJYS State Cup winning teams - U-18 Boys United in 2016 and U-16 Girls Napoli in 2018. Team Porto makes history by becoming the youngest PFC team to win a State Cup Title.
First row: Nishanth Balaji, Mario Radzicki, Quinn Shannon, Gus Shapiro, Siddarth Goyal, Logan Miller
Second row: Coach Yordan Hristov, Aaron Thyrum, Vidur Jain, Trey McFadden,
Billy Crawshaw, Declan Hughes, Christian Tharney, Ivan Marinov, Aahil Sikkander
To reach the top in this direct elimination competition PFC Porto had to overcome strong opposition. In the first round the team versed Hazlet United away in Hazlet (2-0). In the next round Porto versed the neighbouring team from Montgomery Travelers Lions (5-1) in Princeton. In the Quarterfinal game the draw put Porto against a familiar opponent - Scotch Plains Fanwood Blue - the two teams play in the same EDP Central Atlantic League. Porto won (7-2) in Scotch Plains to qualify for the Semi-finals.
The Semi-final game vs Stafford SC Blaze was played in the Cedar Stars Sports complex in Tinton Falls on Oct 27. Porto won (5-2) to book a spot in the Final.
Final Match Pregame Walkout
The Final game against Cinnaminson SC Union lived up to the expectations for an exciting game. After taking the lead in the first half Porto allowed a goal from a free kick in the second half. With 1-1 score at the end of the regular time the game went to overtime. The rules state that two 5 min periods were to be played and if it is still a tie penalty kicks would determine the winner. Still tied after one extra time period Porto started very well the second period and managed to score with 2 min left in the game. That sealed the 2-1 score win and secured the title.
After the game Head Coach Yordan Hristov shared: “This is an incredible achievement for the Porto players and entire Princeton FC family. Having yet another team from our club to represent New Jersey in the Regionals in West Virginia is a great recognition of our organization and our program’s player development model. I am very proud of the players - they played good soccer throughout the entire State Cup campaign and deserved to reach the top. It was a great team effort. Special thanks to all who supported us in this journey.”
PFC Team Porto will travel to Barboursville & Charleston, W.Va. on June 19-23, 2020 to compete in the East Regionals Event.
Congratulations PFC Porto! We wish them the best of luck in their future soccer endeavors!
Princeton FC