The 47th Lions Cup all-star soccer game between squads from New Hampshire and Vermont is on tap Saturday at Hanover High. The boys game kicks off at 1 p.m., followed by the girls contest three hours later.
Pitting recently graduated seniors from either side of the Connecticut River, the event’s rosters have a local flavor.
Lebanon High’s Ryan Oliveira, Hanover’s Connor Hamlin and Eric Ringer, Mascoma’s Ben Seiler and Stevens’ Dylan Chambers will suit up for the Granite State boys. Sunapee’s Andrew Claus is also in the fold, and Lebanon’s Daniel Mladek was selected at tryouts last fall but is presently in Europe with his family.
New Hampshire’s girls roster includes Stevens’ Brynn Murphy and Lebanon’s Ella Longacre. Kearsarge is sending Thea Spanos and Caroline Camp. Its Green Mountain foes feature Hartford’s Jenna Jasmin and Woodstock’s Hannah Lockhart.
This is the second year back for the Lions Cup after its 2020 version was canceled because of COVID-19. Vermont swept last summer’s games, 3-2 on the girls side and 5-1 in the boys clash. New Hampshire leads the boys series, 19-18-9, and the girls matchup, 19-14-5.
Carrying the slogan “Soccer for Sight,” the game is staged by a nonprofit corporation run by the Lions civic betterment clubs of New Hampshire and Vermont. The board of directors is comprised of 18 Lions from each state and money raised goes to a camp for hearing and sight-impaired children in the Twin States.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.