Captaining the New York Boys Gold team for the NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase are (from left): Aiden Cowburn (Wellsville), Grey Kidder (Southwestern) and Luke Griffin (Allegany-Limestone). (Photos provided)

The Boys Gold teams have a lot to live up to when they take the field for the 2025 edition of the NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase.

Last year, the Boys Gold game produced the first-ever penalty kick shootout after New York and Pennsylvania remained tied 2-2 after 100 minutes, including two 10-minute periods of extra time. Pennsylvania ultimately won in the historic contest for an event founded in 2017.

Now, the games return to Pitt-Bradford at the Kessel Athletic Complex. The Boys Silver game kicks off action at noon on Sunday, followed by the Girls Silver (2:30 p.m.), Boys Gold (5) and Girls Gold (7:30).

Southwestern coach Jason Deering is back for a second straight summer as New York Boys Gold head coach and thrilled to work with founders Kris Linderman and Dave Talbot again.

“It’s so much fun,” Deering said. “I mean, we’re coaching some of the best kids in the area. I will sign up for that every time. It’s fun, yeah it’s great. It’s great to watch their talents, great to watch them have fun with all that talent around them. And last year’s game was phenomenal.”

While some key players from last year’s team graduated, including Southwestern’s Connor Young, Deering still sees a team loaded with talent, namechecking Randolph’s Cooper Freeman, Allegany-Limestone’s Cooper Wilczewski (the 2024 Big 30 Player of the Year), Ellicottville’s Owen Doherty and the Trojans’ Grey Kidder and Ryan Ohl as “fantastic” and “outstanding.”

“There’s a bunch of players coming back from last year,” Deering said. “A couple players that were seniors last year and are done now. But the talent is there. We have another strong team this year for sure.”

As Southwestern coach, Deering sees plenty of players from Chautauqua County all season along with teams like A-L or Olean. But he enjoys working with an even wider area of players in the Corporate Cup, from schools like Wellsville or Cuba-Rushford.

“Getting to meet these players, you see how well-rounded they are just as people and you just see why they’re all there,” he said. “They all have that work ethic, they’re all putting in that work to be good at their game and when you get kids from a couple counties over playing with a couple of Chautauqua County kids and Cattaraugus kids, it’s fun to see how they combined and work together and just combined their talents and do what they do to put on a great show.”

Captaining the NY Boys Gold team are three recent graduates, A-L’s Luke Griffin, Wellsville’s Aiden Cowburn (also an Olean Oiler on the baseball field) and Southwestern’s Kidder.

Facing a talented New York team, PA Gold coach David Reitz thinks the game will come down to weathering “the storms.”

“There’s going to be some moments when we have to suffer,” Reitz said. “New York is going to press, they are going to press hard and they’re going to press high. We just have to absorb that, keep our heads and if we can weather that storm and calm down and play our game, that’s what we’ll need to do to win.”

Leading Pennsylvania with captains’ armbands will be the graduated senior trio of St. Marys’ Angelo Catalone, Eisenhower’s Case Seymour and Port Allegany’s Austin Hamilton. Tasked with leading the team is Reitz, the Brookville coach who served as an assistant in last year’s game.

Captaining the Pennsylvania Boys Silver team for the NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase are (from left): Nolan Barnett (Redbank Valley), Isaac Reitz (Brookville) and Weston Luzier (DuBois Central Catholic). (Photos provided)

“I think this game is such a huge deal for the kids,” Reitz said, referencing a conversation with Linderman in accepting the job for ‘25. “I mean, on both sides of the border. There used to be games sort of like this, it was a D9 North and South game, but this is next-level and the kids really enjoy it. They get the true all-star treatment, the all-star feel and they get to play against another state. It’s a huge deal for the kids. It’s a huge deal for soccer in Northwestern Pennsylvania. So as a coach I was flattered to be even asked to be on the staff let alone asked to (be) head coach this year.”

Reitz said his first impression of Team PA was a “really high work rate” and “work ethic.”

“And it really is a group of nice kids, which is certainly refreshing,” he said. “Everybody comes to do their job and everyone has a great attitude. You’d think because we’re gathering from such a wide area that they wouldn’t know each other but you wouldn’t know that if you came to a practice. It seems like they all know each other and have for most of their lives.”

While Pennsylvania similarly draws players from a wide net of schools in multiple counties, some of them rivals, some far apart, Reitz sees the players able to come together quickly as “mercenaries.

“Whenever they come to a team, everyone comes and they come to do their job and they expect everyone else to do their job,” Reitz said. “They’re worried about doing what they’re supposed to do and it frees them up to play their game. The rivalries are out the window. I mean, there’s some ribbing that goes on but as soon as they come together it’s about what can we do to win this match.”

Deering acknowledged for some players, this will be their last organized soccer game, so he wants them all to have fun.

“I consider this is like an All-Star game and you just come to show off all your talent and combine it with a bunch of other talented kids to have one hell of a fun game,” he said. “And if we can win, that makes it more fun.”

Last year, the NY boys won the Silver game 3-1. Bolivar-Richburg coach Mike Zilker leads a NY Silver team with captains Evan Turybury (Genesee Valley/Belfast), Kyle Robinson (Ellicottville) and Landon Barkley (B-R). For PA, DuBois’ Matt Erickson is set to serve as head coach with his team captained by Nolan Barnett (Red Bank Valley), Isaac Reitz (Brookville) and Weston Luzier (DuBois Central Catholic).

Captaining the New York Boys Silver team for the NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase are (from left): Evan Turybury (Genesee Valley/Belfast), Landon Barkley (Bolivar-Richburg) and Kyle Robinson (Ellicottville). (Photos provided)