SD Kristen Manahan Takes the Champion's Podium, SD Al Azhar Syifa Budi Successfully Defends Their KU 10 Championship Title

The cheers of the supporters from the stands of the West City Field on Sunday (November 2nd) added to the excitement of the final match of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo Series 1 2025 - 2026. In the KU 12 sector, Kristen Manahan Elementary School in Surakarta emerged as the champion after defeating MIN 9 Sragen in a high-stakes match with a score of 4-1. Meanwhile, the KU 10 team from Al Azhar Syifa Budi Elementary School finally secured the top podium position again after a narrow victory over Cemara Dua Elementary School with a final score of 3-2.

From the field side, the final match of the U-12 category, which pitted Kristen Manahan Elementary School of Surakarta against MIN 9 Sragen, was intense. Since referee Setiyono blew the whistle for the first half, the Christian Manahan Elementary School team from Surakarta, led by Ika Wonda, immediately launched an attack toward the dangerous side of MIN 9 Sragen. Quickly blocking the attack, MIN 9 Sragen, commanded by Lourinda Divya Tera Avantika, returned the ball passed by Ika Wonda. Less than a minute later, Ika Wonda managed to change the scoreless tie on the scoreboard to 1-0 thanks to a throw-in pass by Fayola Christ Angel Iswahyudi, which was followed by a light tap that went directly into the goal. The match continued to be intense, with both teams trying to control the ball.

Ika and her teammates continued to press the MIN 9 Sragen goal until their goalkeeper, Alissa Fatimah Az-Zahra, had to make a good save. The MIN 9 Sragen attacking line did not give up on launching counterattacks. The deadlock was broken when MIN 9 Sragen was awarded a free kick in the 7th minute, which was executed by Lounrinda and soared down into the goal. The 1-1 tie didn't last long as Ika's corner kick in the 12th minute found the back of the net against MIN 9 Sragen. A minute later, Ika scored a hat-trick by capitalizing on a cross from Ionna Naomi Chrysanta, which was kicked directly into the goal. The 3-1 lead held until halftime.

Entering the second 15 minutes, the exchange of attacks continued. Fierce duels between the attacking lines of both teams often resulted in dead balls. The players from SD Kristen Manahan didn't stop tearing thru the opponent's defensive line. Ika truly became a bogeyman for MIN 9 Sragen, as she was able to score her fourth goal from a corner kick, bringing the score to 4-1 and remaining that way until the end of the second half. This is a sweet victory for Manahan Christian Elementary School after they went without a title at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo 2025 held last May.

I'm so touched and happy that I can finally bring the trophy back to SD Kristen Manahan. Thank you, friends, for your cooperation on the field during the final earlier, it was excellent. Let's keep up the spirit to achieve," said Ika Wonda, who also made an impressive record as the Top Scorer in the U-12 category with 35 goals.

On the other hand, a fierce final match was also played when the KU 10 team from Al Azhar Syifa Budi Elementary School faced SDN Cemara Dua. Both teams' ambition to score a goal quickly is quite high. In the first half, SDN Cemara Dua launched an aggressive attack that caused chaos in the danger zone of SD Al Azhar Syifa Budi. Fortunately, the captain of the KU 10 SD Al Azhar Syifa Budi team, Syarafana Maritza Anggara, immediately instructed them to tighten their defense. Those efforts were successful because SDN Cemara Dua's goal scorer, Joyce Beatricia Adana Putri Bintang, didn't have enough room to create opportunities. The match was quite close.

The deadlock was finally broken by Joyce at the end of the first half after she capitalized on a thru pass and successfully scored a goal against the opposing team. Referee Sarwanto ended the first half with a score of 1-0. After the break, the fierce duel between Syarafana and Joyce resumed. The score deficit didn't dampen the spirits of the SD Al Azhar Syifa Budi squad as they pushed to break thru the defense of SDN Cemara Dua. Those efforts paid off in the 18th minute, with Syarafana scoring with her right foot.

Not stopping there, the second goal for SD Al Azhar Syifa Budi was scored thanks to a beautiful collaboration between Syarafana and Almira Sofia Retriva, who deceived goalkeeper Alika Wiradhika Putri Cahyono with a light tap at the mouth of the goal. Almira also scored a brace in the 26th minute with a loose ball that smoothly broke thru the goal line. The 3-2 score secured the victory for SD Al Azhar Syifa Budi.

Solo Princesses Become More Ambitious to Become Skilled Footballers

The MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo Series 1 2025-2026, held from October 28th to November 2nd, 2025, was participated in by 1,736 female students from 92 Elementary Schools (SD) and Islamic Elementary Schools (MI). In the early age women's football tournament initiated by the Bakti Olahraga Djarum Foundation and MilkLife, they were divided into 64 teams in the U-10 category and 99 teams in the U-12 category.

The number of participants in the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo Series 1 2025-2026 has increased compared to previous series. Since the first event at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo Series 1 2024 in July last year, 389 female students have participated. Subsequently, at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo Series 2 2024 in October 2024, the number of participants reached 830 female students. Then, participation increased again to 1,016 female students when the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo 2025 was held last May.

Head Coach of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge, Timo Scheunemann, is delighted with the positive trend of increasing participant numbers, which is in line with the quality shown. Timo says this is a sign of the great ambition of the young women to become skilled Indonesian footballers in the future.

"I see that schools are now taking their training more seriously, including preparing for this tournament, so we can see that their gameplay has improved." From Solo, there are also many female players who train at the SSB to hone their skills in addition to consistent training in the school environment. I appreciate their dream of strengthening the women's national team, which is now a tangible example. "That's a positive thing that makes the princesses even more enthusiastic about practicing," said Coach Timo.

Surakarta Deputy Mayor Astrid Widayani stated that the spirit toward a 'Healthy Solo City' should be instilled from an early age. Observing the positive trend of participation by Solo's daughters in women's football tournaments, Astrid invited all residents to adopt a healthy lifestyle thru exercise.

"I appreciate the organizers of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge for providing a special space for girls in the U10 and U12 age groups, where so many people want to participate in this competition and the numbers are increasing. This shows good interest, I think with the healthy spirit of Solo, the presence of tournaments like this provides a fresh breath for the city of Solo from an early age. Our students are moving athletes, and some have even made it to the national team. This is certainly a source of pride for the city of Solo," said Astrid Widayani.

Similarly, Head Coach of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo, Maya Susmita, admitted to raising the evaluation standards for the Talent Scouting team to find players for the All Stars Solo team to compete in Kudus in mid-2026. Previously, at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All Stars 2025 event held last January, Coach Maya's team managed to achieve the runner-up position. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of the players in order to bring home that prestigious national-level trophy.

"So many people want to join All Stars Solo, but they have to work even harder because there's still a selection process." We are aiming to reach the final again in the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All Stars, so the players we selected for Extra Training must have better quality than the All Stars Solo players from yesterday. For the selected daughters, we provide the freedom to attend SSB or private classes to hone their skills and increase their motivation in pursuing the world of football," said Coach Maya.

Here is the list of winners for the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Solo Series 1 2025 - 2026:

Age Category 10
Champion: Al Azhar Syifa Budi Elementary School
Runner-up: Cemara Dua State Elementary School
Semifinalists: Malangjiwan 02 State Elementary School and Ta'mirul Islam Islamic Elementary School
Top Scorer: Joyce Beatricia Adana Putri Bintang - Cemara Dua State Elementary School (50 goals)
Best Player: Syarafana Maritza Anggara - Al Azhar Syifa Budi Elementary School
Best Goalkeeper: Delisa Rahma Ufairah - Malangjiwan 02 State Elementary School
Fairplay Team: Kemasan 1 Elementary School

Age Category 12
Champion: SD Kristen Manahan Surakarta
Runner-up: MIN 9 Sragen Semifinalists: SDIT Muhammadiyah Al Kautsar and MIN Surakarta
Top Scorer: Ika Wonda - SD Kristen Manahan Surakarta (35 goals)
Best Player: Rifa Firyal Alifah - MIN 9 Sragen
Best Goalkeeper: Sekar Asha Kani - SD Muhammadiyah 1 Ketelan
Fairplay Team: SDN Cengklik

Visit www.milklifesoccer.com to see the schedule, match results, standings, and the MilkLife Soccer Challenge top scorer list. And follow the MilkLife Soccer Challenge social media accounts (Instagram @milklifesoccer, TikTok @milklifesoccer, YouTube @milklifesoccer) for interesting information about the development of women's football.