STEFFEN BLAIR Photo courtesy of Erin Napolitan

After a successful first season as head boys soccer coach at Warren Area School, Steffen Blair has been named head coach of the Pennsylvania Gold team for the summer 2024 NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase.

“The 2024 NY/PA Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase event will be held at Kane High School on the weekend of July 27th and July 28th,” said showcase co-organizer Kris Linderman. “We are very excited to be able to continue to have our event on both sides of the border. To date, this event has been held in New York four years and PA three years. With this being the fourth year in PA, we will look to hold the 2025 event in a New York venue.”

Alumni games will take place on the evening of Saturday, July 27, he said, and the main event will take place on Sunday, July 28, with the following schedule: Girls Silver match at noon, Boys Silver match at 2:30 p.m., Girls Gold match at 5 p.m., and Boys Gold match at 7:30 p.m.

There were 228 players who tried out during the first tryout session, according to Linderman.

“The most we have ever had,” he said.

“This is the eighth year for the boys and seventh year for the girls,” said Linderman. “The series record is New York boys five wins, PA boys two wins, and the PA girls and New York girls have three wins each.”

Blair’s Dragons finished the 2023 fall season at 12-6-1 overall, losing 1-0 in the District 10 2A playoffs. He was an assistant coach under head coach Denny Flatt and assistant head coach Chris Darling in previous seasons, and was an assistant coach under Darling for PA Gold in this summer’s Corporate Cup.

Following are the coaching staffs for each team:

PA Girls:

– (Gold team Head Coach) Jim Warnick (Bradford)

– (Asst. Coach) Brittany Sprankle (Kane)

– (Asst. Coach) Chris Kurtz (Curwensville)

– (Asst. Coach) Rachel Smith (Ridgway)

– (Asst. Coach) Mike Puhala (Brockway)

– (Asst. Coach) AJ Lucas (Bradford)

– (Asst. Coach) Travis Cowburn (Bradford)

PA Boys:

– (Gold team Head Coach) Steffan Blair (Warren)

– (Asst. Coach) Matt Erickson (DuBois)

– (Asst. Coach) Mike Shaffer (St. Marys)

– (Asst. Coach) TJ Weaver (Ridgway-Johnsonburg)

– (Asst. Coach) David Reitz (Brookville)

– (Asst. Coach) Don Montgomery (Clarion-Limestone)

– (Asst. Coach) Peter Butler (Bradford)

– (Silver team Head Coach) Aaron Clark (Port Allegany)

NY Girls:

– (Gold team Head Coach) Jon Beardsley (Fillmore)

– (Asst. Coach) Scott Stone (Frewsburg)

– (Asst. Coach) John Fitzpatrick (Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale)

– (Asst. Coach) Dale MacArthur (Allegany-Limestone)

– (Asst. Coach) Mark Emery (Bolivar-Richburg)

– (Asst. Coach) Derek Houser (Southwestern)

NY Boys:

– (Gold team Head Coach) Jason Deering (Southwestern)

– (Asst. Coach) TJ Magro (Olean)

– (Asst. Coach) Mike Zilker (Bolivar-Richburg)

– (Asst. Coach) Jon Luce (Allegany-Limestone)

– (Asst. Coach) Nick Quattrone (Falconer)

– (Asst. Coach) Bonnie Schnars (Jamestown)