Fans who didn’t get enough of the endless waiting and cringy moments of the FIFA World Cup draw last Friday were dealt a second dose with last night’s Concacaf Champions Cup draw. There weren’t any presidents pulling ceremonial balls but there’s was a whole lot of Alexi Lalas talking and when it was finally over we learned that the Philadelphia Union will be playing Trinidad and Tobago club Defence Force FC in the first round in February.

In the email today:

1. 🇹🇹 Union to face Defence Force FC in Champions Cup first round

The 2026 campaign for the Philadelphia Union will include a new opponent and a new away trip to Trinidad and Tobago club Defence Force FC, the Union’s round one opponent in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

The Union will visit the TT Premier League club for the first leg of the first round in February and return home to Subaru Park for the second leg.

Defence Force is the island nation’s most successful club, having won 20 national championships and has twice won Concacaf – in 1978 and 1985.

Defence Force earned the final spot in the 2026 edition of the cup via a third place finish in the Caribbean Cup so on paper it’s a favorable first round draw. But the road for the Union only gets tougher with the winner of Club America and CD Olimpia waiting in the second round and Inter Miami, Nashville SC or Forge FC in the quarterfinal.

Concacaf will announce the complete schedule for Round One and Round of 16 in the coming days.

The 2026 competition will be the Union’s fourth appearance. They qualified for the 2021, 2023 and 2024 competitions, falling to Club America and LAFC in the semifinals of the 2021 and 2023 competitions and in the Round of 16 to Pachuca in 2024.

2. 🏆 ‘Breakfast at Bryn Athyn’ EPSA Amateur Cup Final Set

By Greg Oldfield

In the blink of an eye, West Chester showed why they are the defending USASA National Amateur Cup Champions.

Scoring three goals within the first ten minutes and another before the half, the top seed ran through and over the Ukranian Nationals en route to 7-1 victory in the second EPSA semifinal at Bryn Athyn College Sunday afternoon.

“I told the guys before the match started, let’s focus on all the simple things,” West Chester coach Blaise Santangelo said after the game about his team’s quick start. “Let’s be clean. Let’s move the ball fast. Let’s defend. Put pressure on the ball. These are all the things that you need to do to be playing for a final next week.”

West Chester, the lone local participant in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, will have a busy spring ahead and will learn their first round opponent in January. They secured their Open Cup berth after winning the USASA Amateur Cup last August, beating RWB Adria 4-3 in extra time. A mainstay in the historic United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, West Chester has won the last three league titles. West Chester is also back in the American Premier Soccer League after winning the regional league title last season and tops the Delaware River Conference with an 11-0 record.

The first EPSA semifinal had much more drama as Vereinigung Erzgebirge came from behind to top Philadelphia SC 4-2.

VE is currently on top of the USLPA with a 4-1-0 record, their only blemish a 2-2 draw with Colonial less than a month ago. The Warminster club also reached the Third Round of qualifying for the Open Cup, crashing out 3-1 to Oaklyn United, who also plays in the APSL with Philadelphia SC. West Chester trails VE in the USLPA with a 4-1-0 record but will be ready to beat their rivals after an early season loss in the league.

“VE’s the top team in the fall,” Santangelo said about Saturday’s matchup. “They got us early, and we played a lot of soccer and different competitions to try to get us up, bringing in some new players, college grads are coming now, so it’s always going to be a battle.”

“It’s a perfect state cup final, the two best teams in the state” VE captain Kevin Smolyn said. “We’re looking forward to it. We love playing them.”

West Chester and VE will be back for “Breakfast at Bryn Athyn” this Sunday, December 14 Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. Though both teams may have already qualified to the USASA Region I competition, there is no doubt they will be eager to celebrate a trophy in front of their rivals. Last season, West Chester defeated VE in the group stage of the Amateur Cup, handing them an 8-2 thumping. West Chester also beat VE in the EPSA Open Cup final last spring, capping their fourth consecutive cup double, one of the more impressive stretches for an amateur team in the area’s history.

3.💧Water Cooler: MLS Cup Final Results

Well at least not everyone who reads this newsletter was unhappy about Saturday’s result.

3. 🙀 Social Post of the Day: Yikes

4. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Quentin Hall scouts the Union’s newest striker.

• Need gift-giving ideas for the soccer fan on your list? We have a couple ideas.

• West Chester University women came up short in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Franklin Pierce at home. The loss marks the end to a remarkable season and era for the Golden Rams.

• While the MLS season has ended, Owen Boyle’s DOOPing Overseas column continues.

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