State Cup kicks off big month of soccer in the Valley

Get ready for a busy month, soccer fans. The sport takes over the Treasure Valley for the next month, starting with the State Cup on Friday.

STATE CUP

Idaho’s club championships feature 88 youth teams from every corner of the state vying for one of 11 state championships on the line at the Simplot Sports Complex in east Boise. The tournaments, which crown their champions Monday, range from U-13 to U-17 for boys and girls, as well as a U-19 boys tournament.

The U-18 tournaments concluded last weekend to avoid high school graduation conflicts.

The Boise Nationals remain the team to beat. It won all but one (U-18) of the boys titles last year, and it already clinched the U-18 boys and girls titles last week.

USL

The pros take over as Rocky Mountain High hosts a United Soccer League game between the Portland Timbers 2 and the Swope Park Rangers of Kansas City at 7 p.m. June 4.

Idaho Youth Soccer Association President Bill Taylor said the USL, the third tier of American soccer leagues, is using the game to test Boise as a market for a future team. Taylor said more than 3,000 tickets have been sold, with approximately 1,500 remaining at $20 each. Tickets are available at the IYSA website.

FAR WEST

The US Youth Soccer Far West Regionals return to the Simplot Sports Complex on June 20-26. Boise is the first city to host the tournament two consecutive years.

Winners from State Cup will compete against teams from 12 other western states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming — for a spot in the national championships.

Only two teams in Idaho history have qualified for nationals, including last year’s combined FC Nova Nationals U-19 girls, which won the state’s first regional title.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 8:45 PM with the headline "State Cup kicks off big month of soccer in the Valley."