Beer City Cup: Asheville 2026 Recap

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Men's Over 55 Division

The CML Madra Rua Legends first Beer City Cup tournament in the O55 division went well. With some help from Kenyon Rice's Florida boys, we made it to the quarterfinals with minimal injuries, great soccer, and good memories.

We played all three group stage games on Saturday, with scores of 1-0, 1-3, and 4-1. The quarterfinal was a close match, with Trident FC (Florida Atlanta) beating us 3-2. Four games in 22 hours can be rough on the older legs, but we're already looking forward to Savannah in the spring.

Men's Over 50 Premier

Steven Shell Living FC was one of 16 teams in the Over 50 Premier Division. Our very first game, against Imperial Pints Sand Siege (Atlanta), was live-streamed and can be viewed here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCCwpx_q6aQ).

After going down 3-1, we rallied back with a long strike from Paul Tinkler to close the gap, and one more goal secured the tie. We played all three group stage games on Saturday, winning our second game 3-0 and tying our final game of the day 3-3 to move on to the knockout round. In the quarterfinals, we faced Mavericks 50 (Matthews, NC) and were knocked out 3-0.

Over 40 Premier Division

The CML Over 40 Premier Division was represented by our STR KRZ Grip Socks team. The toughest Over 40 division had only six teams (two groups), but every one of them was quality.

We played two group stage games on Saturday, both close losses. In the quarterfinal on Sunday afternoon, we were ultimately eliminated 4-1 by Vandy FC (Nashville). The game was live-streamed on Beer City Cup's YouTube channel for anyone who wants to watch it: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XyiUDiSQKE&t=1974s).

Over 40 2nd Division

Our CML Over 40 2nd Division team traveled to Asheville for the Beer City Cup. Our first game was under the lights on Friday night, and we were ready to play. Four quick first-half goals set the pace for an easy 6-0 win. Daniel Pilsworth netted four goals, including a first-half hat-trick, and Patrick Brickman contributed a brace. Saturday's first game was delayed due to weather, and after a long wait, our opponent decided to call it a draw since both teams were already moving on to the knockout stage.

In the knockout stage, we kicked off at 10:00 p.m., under the lights again. Mark Gaskins crossed to Daniel to put us up 1-0 in the first 19 seconds. Our second goal was the reverse of the first, with Mark volleying in a nice cross from Daniel. The final goal came from Thomas Bohrnstedt on his birthday, sending us through to the quarterfinals.

Sunday morning brought the quarterfinal, and it was an even game throughout. Our opponent scored late in the first half to go up 1-0. We had some chances to equalize in the second half but unfortunately came up empty. That ended our run, having conceded only one goal the entire tournament. A bit unfortunate, but it was fun both on and off the pitch. We'll run it back next year for sure!