The Maryland Development Soccer League (MDSL) hosted the 1st Annual Memorial Cup in Montgomery County, MD from May 25 – 26, 2024. The event hosted 72 teams with players traveling in from all parts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York 72 teams across 45 clubs and 116 games were played across grass and turf fields in Montgomery county. The age groups for the tournament ranged from U-8 to High School Division Boys.
Click here to view the results.
U8 Boys Division
In the U-8 division both UES Silver Spring Panthers and Juventus Academy rolled through their respected brackets and eventually met in the finals. UES averaged nearly 9 goals in the group stage match and continued to score in bunches as they defeated Juventus 11-2 in the final to win the U-8 Division of the Memorial Cup.
U9 Boys Division Black
All 5 teams in this division were fairly equal in competition as no one team had a clear advantage. In the play-in and semi-finals all 3 games ended with a one goal differential. The semi-final match between the Sandy Spring 2015 Green team and USA Elite Soccer Academy 2015 Blue proved to be one of the best matches in the group as the game ended 1-1 in regulation. In the end USA Elite would win in PKs 3-2 and go on to win the final 5-1 against Dematha Soccer Academy 2015/16 Royal.
U9 Boys Division Red
The U-9 Boys Division Red also featured 5 teams but D.C. Way Academy Black proved to be head and shoulders above the competition scoring 25 goals for and only conceding 6 goals in four games. The team would go on to defeat Epic SC Cyclones 2015/16 in the Finals 5-2.
U-10 Girls Division
The U-10 Girls Division did not disappoint and proved to be the most competitive division in the tournament as of the 7 games only one game was separated by more than 1 goal. In the end the MSI Classic Turtles would defeat D.C. Way Academy 2014 Girls Orange Panthers 3-0 to win the Championship.
U10 Boys Black Division
The U-10 Boys Black Division featured competitive and not so competitive games, but this division proved to feature some of the best players in the 7 v 7 format. The final came down to One World Sports Naranja Mecanica and UES Silver Spring Panthers 2014. In their first game Sunday morning the teams played to a 5-5 tie. They would meet again in the finals and Mecanica would go on to win 4-1.
U10 Boys Red Division
The U-10 Boys Red Division featured some great games and not much truly separated the teams as games were back and forth. No one team really took control of the group stage, but Dematha Soccer Academy Royal 2014 would eventually defeat Cosmo Stars 2014 B Apollo 2 to win the division.
U11 Boys Division
The U11 Boys Division featured a total of 8 teams in two brackets with the top team in each bracket meeting in the final. Of the 13 games in this division, 8 games finished with a goal differential of 2 goals or less. In the final Beltsville Soccer Academy 2013 and Phoenix Football Club – Ragu would meet. Beltsville would defeat Phoenix by a score of 2-1.
U11 Girls Division
This 4 team division featured some good games but in the end Lee Mount Vernon Soccer Club 2013 Girls Red proved to be the strongest team in the group. They would go on to defeat UES Pink Panthers by a score of 6-0.
U12 Boys Division
This six team division featured some competitive games but things really picked up in the final where Team Fish and FCI Chivas would meet. In the group stage the two teams met with FCI defeating Team Fish 2-1. The two would meet again in an exciting final that would eventually be decided in PKs after a 2-2 draw in regulation. Team Fish would go on to win 5-4 in PKs.
U12 Girls Division
This 4 team division featured teams at different levels of play with Pasadena Soccer Club 2012 Pythons and West Islip Soccer Club 2012 Black, the first team from New York to participate in an MDSL event, being the top two teams in the division. The two met in a group stage match that finished 0-0 and would eventually meet again in the final. Pasadena proved to be a bit much for the ladies from Long Island as they would eventually go on to win the championship 4-0.
U13 Boys Division
4 of the 7 games in this bracket finished with a goal differential of 2 goals or less. In the end Santos FC would go on to defeat the Bowie Boys and Girls Club FC 2011B 6-0 in the final.
U-14 Girls Division
This four team bracket featured some competitive matches but the eventual winner would be decided in the group stage matches as Central Carroll County Soccer Club Girls 2011 Wildfire would go on to defeat DC Way U13 Girls Diamond 5-1 in the final.
U-14 Boys Black Division
This eight team division bracket didn’t disappoint. Of the 13 games played, 9 were decided by a score of two goals or less. Beltsville Soccer Academy would top Bracket A and Aspen Hill Soccer Club 2010/11 would top Bracket B. The two would meet in the final with the game ending 0-0 in regulation. PKs can be cruel and they were cruel to Beltsville as Aspen Hill would eventually go on to win 5-4 PKs.
High School Boys Division
Talk about controversy. In the Hero Soccer Club vs. Overlea Evolution match both teams finished with the same points, goals against, goals for, and with the 2-2 head to head. Both teams had no choice but to settle the score in PKs. Overlea would eventually overtake Hero to advance to the finals vs. FCI Lions. However, the Lions proved to be a bit much for Overlea to take home the trophy.
