IRON VALLEY UNITED THORNS

common theme that the 2004 Girls Iron Valley United Thorns team stressed when discussing their Presidents Cup National Championship victory. The majority of this team has come up through Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association as a group, playing together since they were young. They have grown up and found success together.

“Seeing all of our hard work pay off by winning that title together meant everything to us,” said one of the players. “It was so special to go to a great stage like the National competition with the girls we grew up with. Winning it all made all of the blood, sweat, tears, and time that we’ve been spending working on and off the field for this game truly worth it. The whole experience was so surreal.”

As for the coaches, they have had a front-row seat watching a group of girls first learning to kick a soccer ball grow into strong women, and now champions. “It has been an amazing journey with this team and an absolute privilege to coach each and every one of these girls, some of them since they were 7 years old,” said head coach Chris Young. “There have certainly been ups and downs over the years in terms of the on-field success as measured in wins and losses, but all along the way, there has been a consistent undercurrent of the evolution of a really special team.”

These girls have grown in Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association and are the first team in Iron Valley history to win the National Championships for the Presidents Cup. They will now compete in the National League PRO division this summer.

“EPYSA has provided a platform and opportunities for various playing experiences for this team to play at an appropriately challenging competitive level at each stage of the team’s development throughout that evolution, which has culminated in the team’s promotion to National League PRO,” said Young.

“Not only did we win the Presidents Cup National