CHESTER, Vt. – As the 2026 World Cup moves into the final round of matches this weekend, local soccer fans are eagerly awaiting our own “world cup,” coming up on Saturday, July 18: the Lions Twin State Soccer Cup.
Two games will be played at Hanover High School in Hanover, N.H.: the men’s game at 1 p.m., and the women’s game at 4 p.m. This year’s event will be the 51st year for the competition, which began in 1977 and is organized by the Lions Twin State Soccer Association. The effort is a joint venture between the Lions of New Hampshire and Vermont, and brings together the best men’s and women’s soccer players from each state, recent high school graduates nominated by the coaches from their respective states.
The head coach for the Vermont men’s team, Jake Walker, explained, “After the high school boys fall season, we held an all-star game, with all-state qualifying players, and then we held tryouts. The boys played two full games in front of coaches who assessed their ability.” Walker said a total of 60 players applied this year, and 21 were selected.
Walker was named Vermont’s Coach of the Year in 2024, which put him on deck to be the 2026 head coach for the state team. Walker has been on staff twice as assistant coach for the Lions Cup in the past. Joining Walker as his assistant coaches will be his father, Scott Walker, who played in the Lions Cup himself in 1982, and Derek Graham, currently a soccer coach at Springfield High School.
As exciting as the Lions Cup matchups usually are, this year’s men’s match is made even more thrilling by the heated rivalry brewing between coach Walker and the head coach of New Hampshire’s team, Couper Gunn.
Gunn, currently the head coach of the boys soccer program at Kearsarge Regional High School in Sutton, N.H., was just named New Hampshire’s Coach of the Year. He also happens to be one of Walker’s closest friends, after the two met while coaching at Lightning Soccer Club. Walker’s wife, Kali, also worked at Lightning at that time, and the three became such good friends, the couple asked Gunn to be the photographer at their wedding.
Gunn said he and Walker have similar approaches to coaching, and when they worked together, would often bounce ideas off one another. But an opponent is an opponent, and Gunn looks forward to going head-to-head against his friend.
“Oh, I want to beat him,” Gunn avowed. “I already told my kids that.”
Walker was getting the Vermont team together for their first and only practice on Saturday, July 11. Gunn said he and his team had a Zoom meeting “to outline general philosophy,” and practices were scheduled the week leading up to Saturday’s contest.
Both men’s and women’s teams are packed with excellent soccer players and will surely put on an exciting performance for attendees. The teams and their coaches are hoping for a big turnout this Saturday, with all ticket proceeds divided evenly between the states and donated to various charities.