2021 Ohio Soccer Outlook: The Ohio State Cup

One of the most anticipated events of the Ohio soccer year is The Ohio State Cup presented by Great Lakes Alliance. This event is US Club Soccer’s state championship for U8-U19 boys and girls teams.

Over the last several years this event has drawn more and more teams from all over Ohio while the event has been played primarily in the northern part of the state. In 2021, The Ohio State Cup will continue to have preliminary matches played in Willoughby and Strongsville, Ohio. New to this year’s event is The Ohio State Cup Semi-Finals and Finals will be played in Columbus making the event more accessible for teams throughout the entire state of Ohio.

The Ohio State Cup U8-U12 $700/team

Tournament Weekends: U-12 and Younger

Preliminary Matches - May 14 -16, 2021

Semi-Finals and Finals - May 22-23, 2021

Location: Preliminary Matches - Lost Nation Sports Park, Willoughby, Ohio

Location: Semi-Finals and Finals - Soccer First, Columbus, Ohio

The Ohio State Cup U13-U19 $750/team

Tournament Weekends: U-13 and Older

Preliminary Matches - May 9 - 16, 2021

Semi-Finals and Finals - May 22-23, 2021

Location: Weekend Preliminary Matches - Strongsville Complex, Strongsville, Ohio

Location: Semi-Finals and Finals - Columbus, Ohio

The event format is a typical round robin style with championship games to determine a tournament champion.

The Ohio State Cup will offer both a Super Group Division as well as a Premier Division. New this year: U13-U19 Super Group winners will advance directly to their respective groups of National Cup XX in Colorado in July of 2021. Premier Division winners will advance to the US Club Soccer regional event in Chicago. Great Lakes Alliance will cover the entry fee into the national and regional events for the respective winners; meaning Ohio has the opportunity to have two teams in EVERY age group represent us in competing for a national championship this year.

Teams interested in participating in The Ohio State Cup must be carded with US Club Soccer. Clubs who are not currently carded US Club can easily do so this spring by contacting Todd Bailey at USCS Membership services.

The Tournament Director reserves the right to adjust the team's selected divisions in order to balance the competitiveness of certain divisions, based on the teams entered. Teams will be notified in advance of such changes. If there are an insufficient number of teams in a particular division, the tournament reserves the right to play that division as one division in the Super Group. Teams will be notified in the event this is necessary.