Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association will kick off its State Cup this weekend.

There are two State Cup competitions in ENYYSA.

The State Open Cup, from Under-12 and up, is for the top teams in the area and is a pathway to nationals.

The Challenge Cup is for all teams at U-10 and U-11 as there is not a State Open Cup in those age groups. For the U-13 division, it’s for mid- to lower-tier teams.

The first round in both competitions will be played over the next two weekends.

The girls will begin this Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13. The boys play their round 1 on March 19 and 20.

Round 2 for girls and boys will be held on the weekend of April 9 and 10.

The quarterfinals will be played on May 7 and 8. while the semifinals will take place on Saturday, May 21. All these games will be played on a team’s home field.

The finals are set for Stringham Park in La Grange, N.Y. on June 4 and 5. Twenty-two championship games will be played that weekend.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.