Washington Crossing Cup pits Mercer vs. Bucks

The inaugural Washington Crossing Cup, a Mercer County, NJ versus Bucks County, Pa. youth soccer competition, will take place Saturday, Dec. 1.

Team Mercer will be made up of clubs from the Hopewell Valley Soccer Association, Lawrence-Hamnett and the Next Level Soccer Academy.

Team Bucks will be made up of clubs from Yardley-Morrisville Soccer and the Patriot Fútbal Club.

Each club will have teams participating from the U9 to the U14 levels.

Each team will play two games against a team from across the Delaware River with one of those games in Mercer County and the other in Bucks County.

The county with the most aggregate points (three for a win, one for a tie) at the end of the day’s competition will be awarded the Washington Crossing Cup.

“Our goal in setting up this competition was to have an event that highlights the high quality of youth soccer in the area and have a spirited, but ‘fun focused’ competition between the area clubs,” said Ben Chrnelich, the travel vice president for the Hopewell Valley Soccer Association.

Chrnelich also said the founding clubs have agreed to donate the net proceeds of the event to the Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Soccer Foundation, which uses soccer as a vehicle to mentor and provide positive life experiences for the underprivileged children in Trenton.

The closing ceremony for the Washington Crossing Cup will be held Saturday at YardleyMorrisville Soccer’s Macclesfield Park, where a check for the proceeds will be presented to Rider University men’s soccer head coach Charlie Inverso, who is a co-founder of Mooch Soccer and a member of its coaching staff.

“This is incredible, exactly what the sport is all about,” Inverso said. “We’re honored to be a part of this and very thankful as well.”

For more information (sites and times), visit www.washingtoncrossingcup.com.