UNITED THEY STAND: Members of the Princeton FC 2009 United 15U enjoy the moment after they placed first in their division at the New Jersey Youth Soccer (NJYS) Presidents Cup earlier this month. PFC United topped NJ Stallions 09 Valencia 2-0 in the final on May 18. The club is next in action when it competes in the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional in Charleston/Barboursville, W.Va., from June 14-18.

By Bill Alden

Achieving a historic championship double, two Princeton FC squads, PFC 2009 United 15U and the PFC 2006 Barcelona 18U, won New Jersey Youth Soccer (NJYS) boys’ state titles earlier this month.

The PFC United 15U team started its title run on April 6 at Princeton Day School by defeating the SPF Raiders Gold 8-0 in the Round of 32 in the NJYS Presidents Cup. United got goals from Oscar Klein, David Gajewski, Rayyaan Mohiuddin, Kingston Lipsey, Yash Thakur, and Gregoire Stefani in the victory.

A week later, United edged FC Copa Flemington 2-1 in the Round of 16 on goals by Michael Caceres and Oscar Klein.

In the quarterfinal, Mohiuddin scored a pair of second half goals to spark the United to a 2-0 win over Neshanic Olympique Marseille.

Showing grit and resilience, United outlasted Cohansey Premier 09 in the semis, rallying to prevail 3-1 in overtime. Cohansey scored first but United equalized late in the second half on a goal by Thakur. The game went to overtime and Simon Danos tallied the second goal for United. The May 10 contest was paused twice for more than 45 minutes after the flood lights went out. After the second restart, Jason Lee’s solo run and cross led to the third goal scored by Thakur.

In the final on May 18, United faced the NJ Stallions 09 Valencia and the foes were locked in a scoreless stalemate until Mohiuddin scored on a penalty kick to give the PFC squad a 1-0 lead at halftime. The NJ Stallions came out hard in the second half but United was able to hold the fort. With 10 minutes left in regulation, Mohiuddin tallied his second goal of the contest to put the finishing touch on a 2-0 win for United.

The squad, which is coached by Milen Nikolov, will next be in action when it competes in the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional in Charleston/Barboursville, W.Va., from June 14-18.

BACK ON TOP: Members of the Princeton FC 2006 Barcelona 18U squad show off the hardware they earned for placing first in their division at the New Jersey Youth Soccer (NJYS) National Championship Series State Cup earlier this month. PFC Barcelona edged the Den of Lions 4-3 in the final on May 19. The club returns to action when it plays in the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional in Charleston/Barboursville, W.Va., from June 27-July 3. The title was the latest in a string of success for the squad that saw it win the NJ US Club State Cup in 2021 and complete a treble in 2022 by winning the NJYS Presidents Cup, the Eastern Regionals, and the Nationals.

As for PFC Barcelona, the squad added another line to an impressive resume which saw it the NJ US Club State Cup in 2021 and complete a treble in 2022 by winning the NJYS Presidents Cup, the Eastern Regionals, and the Nationals.

The squad’s 2024 championship run in the NJYS National Championship Series State Cup started on April 13 at Princeton High with a 3-1 win over PSC Academy 2006 Blue in the quarterfinal round. Two stars from the PHS boys’ squad that won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 4 state championship last fall led the way for Barcelona as Archie Smith tallied two goals and Nick Matese added one.

In a semifinal game against Union Dragons Blue 06 on May 2, Barcelona was down a goal after 24 minutes. The PFC squad rallied in the second half as PHS standouts once again came through with Azariah Breitman, Felipe Matar Grandi, and Matese finding the back of the net as Barcelona prevailed 3-1.

The final against the Den of Lions on May 19 turned into a thrilling back and forth contest. Barcelona built a 3-0 lead by halftime on goals by Matese, Breitman, and Matar Grandi. Early in the second half, Matar Grandi tallied his second goal of the contest to put Barcelona up 4-0. In the last 30 minutes of the game, though, the Den of Lions showed why they only lost once in the last calendar year. They scored three goals and missed a penalty kick in the waning seconds of the game as Barcelona held on for a hard-earned 4-3 victory and another title.

The squad, which is also led by coach Nikolov, returns to action when it plays in the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional in Charleston/Barboursville, W.Va., from June 27-July 3.