caption: CUP HOLDERS: Members of the Princeton Soccer Association's Union 90 Under-16 boys' travel team are all smiles after their recent victory over the Ironbound Blaze in the U-16 New Jersey State Cup title game. In the front row, from left, are Casey Koplik, Brian Hill, Nathan Papperman, Antoine Hoppenot, Chris Bechler, Keisuke Murata, Sal Ghodbane, and Steven Hellstern. Pictured in the back row, from left, are Samir Ghodbane (assistant coach), Ryan Fitzgerald, Jelani Rooks, Ari Silver, Daniel Garfing, Eddie Vitoria, Stoyan Pumpalov (head coach), James Mooney, Will Slade, Ben Abrams, Hugo Morales, Evan Gershkovich, and Perry Koplik (assistant coach).

PSA's Union 90 Club Fulfills Promise as It Wins U-16 N.J. State Cup Title

Bill Alden

It was a message that stuck in Ari Silver's mind.

In 2000, Silver and his teammates on the Princeton Soccer Association's Union 90 Under-16 boys' travel team had their first practice with new coach Stoyan Pumpalov, who had recently come to the U.S. after a 22-year playing career in Bulgaria.

After that first training session, Pumpalov told his new charges that they would some day win the New Jersey state title if they stuck together.

In succeeding years, Pumpalov's vow seemed to be taking on a hollow ring as Union 90 struggled in the New Jersey State Cup competition, never advancing beyond the sweet 16 in the tournament.

But last month, Pumpalov's promise came true as Union 90 took the Under-16 boys' New Jersey State Cup by edging the Ironbound Blaze on penalty kicks after the teams knotted at 1-1 through regulation and a 30-minute overtime session.

In Silver's view, that initial pep talk from Pumpalov helped inspire the team to its crown. "When I was nine and Stoyan became our coach, the first thing he said is that we would win the New Jersey Cup," recalled Silver, a star defender who has been with Union 90 since its inception in 1998. "We were so motivated to do it. We have a great group of guys; everyone plays so well together."

Silver and his teammates knew they needed to play well to overcome the Blaze, who had won the U-15 New Jersey State Cup last spring.

"We have a rivalry; we had never beaten this team," said Silver, who will head up to Portland, Maine with his teammates later this month as the Union 90 compete in the Northeast regional tournament for a spot in the national Final Four. "We knew both teams would work hard and that it wouldn't be easy to score."

A key factor in the clash was the defensive play of Union 90. "We were going to do everything to keep them from scoring," said Silver, who was joined on the backline by Ben Abrams, Will Slade, Sal Ghodbane and goalkeepers Casey Koplik and Steven Hellstern. "We've been playing together for a long time; we weren't going to let anything in."

Union 90 succeeded in that until the last few seconds of regulation. After taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Ryan Fitzgerald with two minutes left in the second half, Union 90 was stunned when the Blaze scored on a header off a long free kick just before the final whistle.

"It was crazy," recalled Silver, a junior at Princeton High who helped the PHS boys' soccer team advance to the state Group III semifinals this past fall. "They brought all of their guys forward on the free kick and it got touched by one of our guys and it went backwards. Their tallest guy headed it in."

In responding to the deflating goal, Union 90 once again acted on the words of Pumpalov. "Coach told us to we could do it if we kept playing like we had," said Silver. "Everybody came together; everybody was playing defense all over the field."

Things came together for Union 90 as it prevailed in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the penalty-kick shoot-out. "We were prepared," said Silver. "We had four of our best shooters and then Sal took the fifth one. I was going to be sixth."

The win provoked an emotional scene. "It was unreal," said Silver. "Coach was on his knees crying."

For Silver, the win capped a busy spring which has also seen him star at first doubles for the Princeton High boys' tennis team.

"I do tennis after school and then soccer after tennis," said Silver, whose winning partnership with Ben Weingarten helped propel PHS to a 17-4 record and second place in the Central Jersey Group III sectional and third at the Mercer County Tournament. "I do soccer on the weekends. You have to have perfect footwork in tennis; that helps with my soccer."

Coach Pumpalov saw the win as a realization of his first message to the team. "I said 'OK boys, you don't know me and I don't know you,'" recalled Pumpalov. "'I've heard something about you. If we work together and believe in each other and if you believe what I tell you is right, one day we're going to be a champion.'"

After a series of early-round exits in the state cup, Pumpalov was starting to think his team was snakebitten in the competition.

"We had a good team that could compete but for one reason or another we had never gotten to the final," said Pumpalov. 'We knew we wanted to do more, we have been considered one of the better teams."

Union 90 competed well all the way through this year's competition, posting wins over Middletown Pride (5-1), Parsippany Warriors (4-0). Rancocas Blue Lightning (2-0), and South Jersey Barons (2-1) on the way to the title game.

In Pumpalov's view, it was defense that made the difference in the title run. "I had some concerns about my defense," said Pumpalov.

We score goals and a lot of goals but we give up goals. We have become stronger, our goalkeepers are better. The defense did an incredible job in the tournament. We only gave up three goals in the tournament overall."

The head coach was concerned that his team might not be able to hold the fort when the title game went into overtime. "Ironbound won its semi 4-1 and they were able to rest some key players," said Pumpalov. "I used a short roster in our semi, I only used 13 players or so. It was going to be difficult to keep going for 30 more minutes. But both teams didn't want to take risks."

Union 90 doesn't plan to play it close to the vest as it competes in the regional tournament from June 28-July 3. "I believe we can have a good tournament," asserted Pumpalov.

"We have to look at the draw and the opponents. If we're as focused and confident like we were in the state cup, I think we can do well and play with anybody."

Silver, for his part, believes the team will keep that focus as it looks to make some more history up in Maine.

"We are a small team so we have to use our speed," said Silver. "We have to focus on playing as a team. Every team we faced in the cup presented a challenge. One team was good in the air, another was very fast. We rose to the occasion and met each challenge."

And in so doing, they made their coach sound like a prophet.

Return to Previous Sports Story | Return to Top | Go to Calendar