Breakers, Aptos Soccer Merge to Create Santa Cruz United FC

The Santa Cruz County Breakers and Aptos Soccer Club will permanently merge their competitive soccer programs, as of July 1. The merger will form Santa Cruz United F.C., the largest competitive soccer program in Santa Cruz County, with 600+ players and 38 teams.

Tryouts start May 6 and 7 at the Cabrillo track and stadium for teams for players ages 8-18. See schedule at https://scunited.org/

Teams will compete in the NorCal Premier Soccer league, with the top teams competing in the prestigious National Premier League, providing an elite competition platform for top competitive youth soccer clubs in the U.S.

Clubs must apply and meet competitive standards to be admitted to the league.

Gary Nelson will be the initial president of the new club, which has a board and leadership team composed of members from the individual clubs.

The merger follows two years of the clubs’ boards and technical staff working together on a temporary basis under a strategic alliance agreement signed in 2022.

Aptos Soccer Club, founded in 2001, is dedicated to providing a fun and rewarding soccer playing experience for youth.

Santa Cruz Breakers, founded in 1992, lists more than 60 alumni who played soccer in college.

“This merger represents a huge opportunity to build and advance the competitive soccer community in Santa Cruz County,” said Ashley Edgar, director of coaching, Santa Cruz Breakers. “For years we’ve been hoping to bring together clubs from across the county to allow players to combine and compete for one club. I’m excited to officially join forces with Aptos Soccer Club, which will enable us to collaborate, rather than compete. By working together we can provide appropriate playing levels to keep kids playing the game longer. We hope, through our shared vision, we can collaborate with more local soccer clubs across Santa Cruz.”

“This is an exciting moment for the future of soccer in Santa Cruz County. Merging our two competitive programs will help develop soccer players of all levels and give them a better opportunity to continue to play club soccer through to college age,” said Ed Watson, director of coaching, Aptos Soccer Club. “By creating a joint program, the player pools in each age group are larger, creating more competitive teams and giving players the opportunity to develop their soccer skills at their own pace, and stay in club soccer longer.”

Aptos Soccer Club and Santa Cruz County Breakers will continue to operate their community recreational soccer programs independently from the combined competitive club.

•••

• Ed Watson, Executive Director, 858-401-0377, edwardiwatson@gmail.com
• Ashley Edgar, Sporting Director, 831-566-8822, ashley@santacruzbreakers.org
• Gary Nelson, President, 408-761-8016, ascclubpresident@gmail.com