Developing Into a Force by Sticking Together, PFC U-19 Boys’ Squad Wins New Jersey Cup
STATE OF JOY: Members of the Princeton Football Club (PFC) U-19 United boys’ squad are all smiles after winning the New Jersey State Cup earlier this month. The PFC squad defeated the Next Level Soccer Academy (NLSA) Raiders 3-0 in the title game on June 5. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are, Andres Redrovan (Trenton High), Chris Harla – captain (Princeton High), Jake Caddeau (PHS), Dwight Donis (PHS), Cole Snyder (PHS), Chase Ealy (PHS), Peter Luther (PHS), Gunnar Schellscheidt (Hun), Jaime Chavez (Trenton). In the back row, from left, are assistant coach Joe Yurcisin, Mark Petrovic (PHS), Oscar Vik (Princeton Day School), Marco Pinheiro (PDS), Sam Serxner (PHS), Owen Lindenfeldar (PHS), Conner Yurcisin – captain (Montgomery High), Matt Cabrera (Montgomery), Kevin Hagan (PDS), Jerry Merino (Trenton), Erik Munguia (Trenton), and head coach Stoyan Pumpalov.
For Stoyan Pumpalov, guiding his Princeton Football Club (PFC) U-19 United boys’ squad to a New Jersey State Cup earlier this month was the culmination of a long-term process.
The core of the team joined the PFC at its inception in 2008, competing for two teams, the PFC Metros, including players born in 1996, and PFC Chelsea, featuring those born in 1997.
Pumpalov opted to consolidate the teams into one squad last season, creating PFC United.
“I decided to merge because the more serious players that wanted to play in college, stayed in soccer and the less competitive players lost interest,” explained Pumpalov, the PFC Director of Training and Programs.
“They didn’t want to go to many tournaments, they didn’t want to do long traveling so last year I combined the best players from both teams.”
Meeting Pumpalov’s expectations, the reconfigured squad clicked immediately as it reached the New Jersey State Cup semis last year.
“It was easy for me to combine those two teams because I knew the players very well, having worked with them since they were 10, 11 years old,” added Pumpalov.
“Their age difference was only one year and in some cases, just a few months. I have often trained those teams together and sometimes had them scrimmaging against each other. They have known each other since they were very young.”
With a season playing together, the team took the next step as it won the 2016 State Cup, defeating the Next Level Soccer Academy (NLSA) Raiders 3-0 in the title game on June 5. Princeton High standouts Pete Luther, Chase Ealy, and Same Serxner scored the goals for PFC with Little Tiger Owen Lindenfeldar earning the shutout.
The triumph represented a reversal of fortune as United had dropped a 5-2 decision to NLSA a month earlier in a regular season contest.
“I am not sure how much the guys were prepared; we didn’t spend enough time together,” said Pumpalov, reflecting on the previous setback. “We knew that we were not ready. We looked forward to the final because we wanted to prove that the game we played a month ago was just a bad day.”
While the score line in the title game made it a good day for PFC, Pumpalov acknowledges that it was a tight contest.
“They are a good team and they put a lot of pressure on us,” said Pumpalov.
“They easily could have taken a 1-0 lead in a situation where I don’t know how Dwight Donis cleared the ball. Three of the four defenders (Donis and Chris Harla), including the goalkeeper (Lindenfeldar) are from Princeton High.”
Another former PHS standout, Luther, has teamed with former Princeton Day School stars Marco Pinheiro and Oscar Vik to give United skill and tenacity in the middle of the field.
“We have Pete Luther playing in the midfield together with Marco and Oscar,” said Pumpalov. “That makes our midfield very strong.”
Pumpalov is looking for another strong effort from his players when the team competes for the Region 1 championship from June 30-July 5 in Barboursville, West Virginia.
“We are going over there with a lot of confidence and we will try to represent our state and our club really well,” said Pumpalov.
“We have a chance to win the regionals and that will be an even bigger achievement.”
In Pumpalov’s view, the team’s confidence stems from the players sticking with the PFC program.
“When you start with a group of kids when they are 10, 11 years old, even if you realize that there is a lot of talent, you know there is a lot of hard work ahead of you,” said Pumpalov, noting that he previously coached a Princeton Soccer Association (PSA) squad to a New Jersey State Cup in 2007 after its players had been together for years.
“We like to get a bunch of kids together and develop them and eventually succeed with them. It is not something that happened by accident. This is what makes me very happy and so proud of what those guys have done. Keeping those guys together it makes us different and I feel it is more special and as a coach I can see the result.”