Tom Schmitt

Girls soccer in the region has not only continued to grow in numbers, but it has continued to grow in recognition and success at a state level and far beyond.

When the Team Energy girls squad was promoted to the highest level of play in the Great Lakes Premier Conference, it was the only team in the regional FC 814 Club to do so. Now it has been joined by coach Erica Kennedy and her u-16 girls Crushers team, which by virtue of winning its Division 1 Classic Conference, was promoted to the Great Lakes Premier Conference play where it will compete against an extremely high caliber of competition in teams from the Ohio, Indianapolis and Wisconsin areas.

The Crushers have started out 1-2 in conference play in their initial season with three games remaining but won the March President’s Cup Tourney and will be moving to Regional Cup play now on June 11-14 at Grand Park, Indianapolis. Kennedy’s roster is made up of girls from Blair County with some Centre County girls on the team as well. She carries 16 rostered players and is assisted by Mickey Bumbarger.

Team Energy u-19 girls continue their winning ways and will be looking to capture their fourth straight PA West state cup title in their final year together as a team. They traveled to Boston and went undefeated to win the u-19 division of the New England Futbol Club Showcase of Champions in the Gold (top flight) bracket. Currently, nine Team Energy players have signed or have verbally committed to continue their playing careers at the collegiate level. There will be a banquet at the Jaffa Mosque for the team to recognize a decade of dominance in play on Wednesday, May 6.

The FC 814 Shockwave girls, under coach Mike Metrik, came up big winning the u-19 Cup Bracket at the Baltimore Mania tournament with a 3-0-1 record and an outstanding defensive performance. The Shockwave defeated the Maryland United Football Club, Calvert Soccer Association and Bayside FC (all from Maryland) on its way to the title.

The Boys FC 814 u-13 Vipers came up big, winning the PA West u-13 Presidents Cup and will continue on.

Off to Costa Rica

The Penn State Altoona women’s soccer team will be traveling to Costa Rica for an international cultural and athletic experience during an eight-day journey from May 14-21, according to head coach Pam Snyder-Etters.

The student athletes will explore the history, traditions and beauty of Costa Rica while taking part in competitive play and performing community service.

The team will begin in San Jose learning local art traditions, visit a local school to host a youth soccer clinic and create a mural with students and community members. It will compete in three matches against regional teams from San Jose (urban region), Alajuela (rain forest region) and Liberia (coastal region).

These matches will be competitively challenging and developmentally appropriate. There will be group excursions and team building activities. Soccer is the national sport in Costa Rica, so the matches should be a cultural experience.

World Cup nears

The 2026 Men’s World Cup competition continues to draw nearer as the U.S. men’s national team 26-player roster will be led by Christian Pulsic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Matt Freese under the leadership of coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Look for Pulsic to be the focal point of the attack as he is an experienced World Cup player and team captain. Pochettino is 13-7-2 as the U.S. men’s coach.

The Cup games will be played throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. A final roster will be confirmed closer to the tournament start. The USA is in Group D and will face tough matches from Paraguay and Australia. The final team in the group has yet to be determined.

The USA will have a great home field advantage at Lumen Field in Seattle and So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles. This is the first time USA has hosted Cup play since 1994. The USA is currently ranked 14th in the world by FIFA. The best Cup performance ever by the men was their quarterfinal appearance in 2002.

Their first match is against Paraguay Friday, June 12, at 9 a.m. The next group match is against Australia on Friday, June 19, at 3 p.m. with the last group match against an undetermined opponent at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25.

All of these matches should make for exciting play with USA having a good chance to move on from group play.

Tom Schmitt writes a monthly soccer column for the Mirror.