The 2019 Indiana Soccer Cup finals weekend, after 14 straight weeks of rain and storms every weekend turned out to have great weather and all the games completed! The Cup Series required the scheduling of 969 games. One hundred sixteen (116) of the games were postponed due to weather and field conditions. All but 43 of those games were rescheduled and completed which got us to the final weekend, and eventually, to determine age-group and event champions.
The State, Presidents, and Challenge Cup events started out with just over 600 teams. By finals weekend there were still 200 teams in the running for the championship titles. Congratulations to all the teams that were crowned champions on June 2, 2019. Indiana Soccer sends best wishes to the teams traveling to their regional events - good luck in your games!
“It is fun to watch the culmination of so much training, moms and dads driving to practices and games, coaches investing in their education – sharing their education with the players with whom they have the privilege of serving. It is equally as fun to see how excited the players, parents, and coaches are to do it all over again next year” – stated Dave Guthrie, Indiana Soccer’s Executive Director.
The 5th Annual Memorial Cup hosted another 135 teams playing 199 games simply for the love of the game in memory of special people we lost too soon. The event opened with a moment of silence, a balloon launch, and then an 8:00 AM kickoff. US Youth Soccer’s sponsor Target was on site and provided an excellent "fun zone" area that was a huge hit with the kids. Besides fun soccer, players and their families enjoyed free games and snacks and even a dance contest or two hosted by Target. At noon we were privileged to host the families of the honorees for a luncheon. These families were all excited to see so many kids playing passionately the sport their loved ones enjoyed so much.
"I will admit that the weather caused us to experience a stressful cup season. However, there were lots of really good people doing the right thing for the participants, who invested some overtime and managed to get us through finals. Indiana Soccer recognizes and appreciates the extra efforts of all these people this year - coaches, managers, club staff, players, and their families. We hope that you enjoyed your cup season and are already looking forward to next year." - Angel Hall, Indiana Soccer Cup Director
The championship fields on Sunday, June 2, 2019, hosted six (6) adult teams which took the pitch to play a Men's Open, Men's Over 30, and Women's Open State Cup championship games. This is the first time in Indiana Soccer history that we have hosted three (3) adult state cup games on finals weekend. Congratulations to those teams for participating and to the teams earning a berth to the 2019 Region II Tournament of Champions to be held in Fort Wayne in July.
Alan Brown, the President of Indiana Soccer had this to say about the events: “Wow! What a spectacular weekend of soccer! So nice to finally get some cooperation from the weather. Congratulations to our champions in all divisions: State, Challenge, President’s, Memorial and Men’s, Men’s over 30, and Women’s Open Cups. A special congratulations and thanks to Angel Hall, our Cups Director, for the great work by her and her staff. It was really special to consolidate all of our Cup finals at the same location on a single weekend”