Spring is here and soccer in the mid-Atlantic is ramping back up in a big way. The light is at the end of the tunnel continues to get bigger and things are slowly getting back to normal with the sport we love.

Maryland State Soccer Association 2021 Cup Season

ROWLAND CUP

The Rowland Cup, Maryland’s Open Championship, completed its group play on Sunday, March 14 at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring. And, while we already knew which teams were going through to the knockout rounds, the final group games determined rankings and which teams would play each other in the semifinals.

In Group A, Steel Pulse FC edged Yinz United 3:2 to win with group with Yinz taking second. In the other Group A match, All Star United beat Colombia F.C. 6-3 with the clubs ending third and fourth respectively.

In Group B, Christos FC continued its dominant run in Maryland State competitions defeating second-place Columbia FC 5-1. In the other Group B match, Baltimore Kickers blanked Maryland International FC 3-0 in a game between the third and fourth place teams.

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The semifinal matchups are now set in the Rowland Cup. Steel Pulse will take on Columbia FC at Cedar Lane Field #6 in Columbia on Tuesday, March 23. Christos will face Yinz United the next evening at Troy Park Field #2 in Elkridge.

STEWART CUP

The Quarterfinals of the Stewart Cup, Maryland’s official amateur cup competition, continue this weekend with three games at Laytonia Park in Gaithersburg. On Sunday, March 7 at Montgomery Blair, three First Round matches took place.

In the first, Columbia FC easily handled Colombia F.C. 10-2. The middle match was easily the most exciting of the day with Motorik FC and Capital City FC fighting 90 minutes to a scoreless draw. Motorik took the match on penalties, 5-4. In the late afternoon match, Baltimore Kickers took the measure of JA Raiders FC by a 6-1 score. Those three winners made it through to the Quarterfinals to face clubs that received a bye in the First Round. Earlier that morning at Montgomery Blair, the first Quarterfinal match of the Stewart Cup took place between All Star United and Maryland International. The All Stars shut out MD Inter 3-0 and will wait to see who they are playing the Semifinals as the remaining three Quarterfinals matches will be played this Sunday at Laytonia Park.

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MORTON CUP

The Morton Cup finished its group stage matches on March 14 at Laytonia Park. In Group A, D.C. de Districtonia and Frederick Spires FC met to determine which of the clubs would move on to the knockout round. Districtonia needed a win to move on but found a determined Frederick squad that won the match 8-0. In the other group match, Dream Team FC cruised past DC Flames FC 8-2 to take the top spot in the group.

In Group B, JA Raiders needed a win over TrendSetters FC and help to move on to the knockout round. The high-scoring match ended 6-6 meaning neither clubs would move on. With that result, Columbia FC 2 was assured of making it to the semifinals but a win against group-leading Motorik FC would give them first in the group. Motorik was too much for the reserve side, winning 3-0.

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The semifinals matched up Motorik FC of Alexandria, Virginia versus Frederick Spires FC in the first match and Dream Team against Columbia in the second both at Troy Park. This Tuesday, Frederick Spires pulled a slight upset by beating Motorik 2-1 in a close game. The second match was played the next night with no result as of this writing.

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MARYLAND OVER-30 CUP

Maryland United will face Colombia FC in a Quarterfinal match on March 21 at Laytonia Park in Gaithersburg. The remaining three clubs received byes to the semifinals to be held on March 28 also at Laytonia Park. In the semis, Baltimore Kickers will take on Christos FC and the combined Fighting BOBs/Yinz Legends O30 squad will take on the winner of the Quarterfinal.

Eastern Premier Soccer League spring 2021 season update

The Mid-Atlantic Conference of the recently-formed EPSL was hit hard by the pandemic as its initial fall 2020 season was canceled. Recently, the league announced its spring 2021 roster of clubs along with the schedule for the spring.

Four clubs return from those scheduled in the fall. Maryland Bobcats FC II, the NISA pro club’s reserve squad, Northern Virginia F.C. from Leesburg, Baltimore’s Steel Pulse FC, and VA United from Woodbridge, Virginia. Five more clubs will join those in the spring. All Star United FC and Columbia FC join from MMSL’s 1st Division. DMV Rangers FC, Fredericksburg City United and Motorik FC join from MMSL’s 2nd Capital Beltway.

The EPSL Mid-Atlantic will start play on March 20 and the season will run through mid-May. On Saturday, VA United will travel to Montgomery Blair HS to face Maryland Bobcats II. Also that day, NoVa FC will host Fredericksburg City at Evergreen Sportsplex in Leesburg.

Maryland Major Soccer League spring 2021 season update

Exciting news dropped on March 12 as the MMSL announced their return as the league’s Spring 2021 season would start on April 12. While the lineup of teams and alignment of divisions was not revealed, the league did announce that IFK Maryland and Sure Sports FC had been promoted to the 1st Division. The two clubs finished at the top of the 2nd Baltimore Metro in the suspended Fall 2020 season tied on points.

Also, just before the writing of this piece, the MMSL announced that a number of new clubs will be joining for the spring season. These clubs are the TrendSetters FC, NIM, FC 1749, Millennium, Athletic United, Alexandria United, DC International FC, Union Athletic FC, FC 4188, Lions FC, and Cheverly FC.

DC Premier League spring 2021 season update

The DC Premier League announced on March 4 that registration was open for their spring 2021 season. This spring their open division will have eight clubs. The regular season is scheduled to run for seven weeks starting this Sunday, March 21, and ending May 7. The top seed will receive a bye to the final on May 16 with the second and third seeds playing a match on May 9 to determine which club will get to face them.

Games this Sunday will take place at the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland. MSGA will face Federal City Wanderers, La Tocadita, the adult team of Toca Juniors, will play FTSC Rainbow Unicorns, and Oranje, a new team from the canceled spring 2020 season, will face DCFC. The final club, TVZ, known as Team Tevez, has a bye week.

- Dan Creel