ECNL BOYS NATIONAL FINALS RECAP

It was a historic day at the ECNL Boys National Finals Championship day, as five new champions were crowned. Two clubs earned their first national title in ECNL Boys, while another club set a record for number of championships won in a single season. Get caught up on all the action below and celebrate the new national champions. 

U17 National Champions: XF Academy

In the U17 ECNL Boys National Championship, XF Academy’s B08 were looking to claim their second ECNL Boys National Championship in three years, after winning the title at the U15 age group in 2023.

XF Academy had their chances early on for the breakthrough, most notably in the 22nd minute when a shot rang off the post that nearly opened the scoring.

Just before halftime though, XF Academy found the back of the net when Alessandro Amador slotted a ball in front of the face of goal that Oscar Santana finished off at the back post to give XF Academy the 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.

In the second half, XF Academy came out flying, scoring a minute into the half on a shot inside the box from Zachariah Hume, after he received a pass from Santana.

XF Academy wasn’t done though, as they piled on three goals in the opening seven minutes of the second half. Following Hume’s goal, Harper Mikolasy headed home a corner for XF Academy’s third of the game. Santana then added on his second of the game to give XF Academy a commanding 4-0 lead, which they were able to see out to clinch the U17 ECNL Boys National Championship.

After losing in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks last season, Santana described how amazing of a feeling it was for XF Academy to get redemption, bringing back their second title in three seasons.

“We’re so glad to bring the trophy back again after coming up short last year. It just feels good to finally win it again,” Santana said. “This win is a team effort because of the chemistry we have, and had today.”

U16 National Champions: Florida Premier

For the first time in club history, Florida Premier is ECNL Boys National Champions, following an impressive end to the first half in the National Championship match against Pateadores. 

Florida Premier and Pateadores played a close match for the majority of the first half, with both sides earning their own scoring chances. But as the half wore on, the field started to tilt more and more in Florida Premier’s favor, until finally they broke through. 

With just minutes remaining in the first half, Florida Premier earned a corner kick on the left side of the pitch. The service went into the box, where a Florida Premier forward flicked the ball on net. His deflection bounced off the Pateadores goalkeeper and found its way into the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead. 

Just four minutes later, Florida Premier pushed their lead to 2-0 in the run of play. Pateadores attempted to move the ball forward, but Florida Premier disrupted the distribution and created an odd-man situation in the attacking third. Forward Tomas Garcia received the pass and immediately ripped a shot into the bottom right corner to give Florida Premier a two-goal lead into halftime. 

That score held until the 83rd minute, when Florida Premier iced the match. Midfielder Ibrahim Abdelsalam created a turnover in the center of the pitch and immediately pushed forward. Abdelsalam cut toward the right and put a shot from outside the box on frame, beating the goalkeeper to the left post to give his squad a 3-0 lead. 

That score held and at the final whistle, Florida Premier lifted their first boys’ title in club history, and became the first Florida-based ECNL Boys club to win a national championship.

U15 National Champions: Legends FC

Legends FC finished off an incredible run to their first ever ECNL Boys National Championship with a 5-1 win over STA in the final.

Legends got the scoring going early in the title game, when Marcel Aguilar fired home a shot from inside the box in the 5th minute to put Legends up early.

Legends doubled their lead in the 27th minute, as Kingston Rojas hit a header off the post, but was able to beat the defense to the rebound and finish off the second chance opportunity to put Legends up 2-0.

STA tried to mount a rally in the second half and had an early opportunity to cut the lead in half off a corner kick, but a goal line clearance preserved Legends' two goal advantage.

Moments later, the Legends press created a turnover and Rojas received a ball in the box that he slotted in for his second goal of the game to give Legends a commanding 3-0 advantage.

Despite the three goal deficit, STA continued to battle and saw their hard work pay off in the 52nd minute when Aavik Akarte slotted home a shot off a corner kick to cut the lead down to 3-1.

The Legends counter attack proved to be too much for STA though. As STA continued to put numbers forward as they pushed for their second goal, Legends quickly struck back on the counter and Rojas buried his third of the game to complete his hat trick and re-establish Legends' three goal edge.

In the closing moments, Legends tacked on a fifth goal to secure the 5-1 win and capture their first ECNL Boys National Championship.

“We’ve been at it for three years and in the last two years we didn’t make it out of our group, so this is a very special moment for us to be the first ECNL Boys team at our club to win a national title,” Rojas said following the win. “This group is like a second family to me. I’ve been with them for so long and I’m so happy to share this moment with them.”

U14 National Champions: XF Academy

All it takes is one shot to become champions. Such was the case for the XF Academy U14 team in their national championship match against Concorde Fire Platinum. 

For the first 79 minutes of the match, the two sides battled back and forth, looking for any opportunity to gain an edge against their opponent. For most of the first half, it was XF Academy pushing forward and earning scoring chances. But following the halftime break, Concorde Fire Platinum started pressing forward and creating more opportunities. With extra time and penalties looming, both teams were desperate to end the game in regulation. 

In the 79th minute, it was finally XF Academy who found the back of the net. Coming down the right side of the pitch, XF Academy sent a cross into the box. The pass narrowly missed forward Owen White, but found a teammate on the far side of the goal. He kicked it back in, and White was able to flick a shot on goal. His deflection bounced off the Concorde Fire Platinum goalkeeper and into the sidenetting for the goal. 

White’s tally put XF Academy in the lead, and after just minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle sounded and the U14 XF Academy team earned the first national championship of their careers.

U13 National Champions: XF Academy

In the youngest age group at ECNL Boys National Finals, XF Academy put forth a spirited effort against Legends FC in the U13 National Championship match. 

For the first 20 minutes of the match, both XF Academy and Legends FC spent the majority of the match in the midfield, keeping possession and looking for opportunities to move into the attacking third. As the half wore on, XF Academy started establishing play in Legends’ side of the pitch, and converted on a scoring chance in the 23rd minute. 

Forward Nigel Knoblich won a ball at the top of the box and, surrounded by Legends defenders, turned and quickly put a shot on net. Legends’ goalkeeper made the initial stop, but Knoblich put enough spin and force on his shot where the ball bounced over the keeper and across the goalline to give the Seattle squad a 1-0 lead. 

XF Academy held that 1-0 lead throughout the rest of the first half and most of the second as well, weathering every Legends attack and even creating chances of their own. But in the dying minutes of the second frame, another ball found the back of the net. 

XF Academy defender Gael Segura Sandoval won a ball at midfield and with nothing but open field ahead of him, sprinted forward into the attacking third. Twenty-five yards from the goal, he pulled up and rocketed a shot over the head of the Legends goalkeeper. Sandoval’s goal was the last of the match, clinching the U13 championship for XF Academy. 

With the win, XF Academy went 4-for-4 in national championship matches in the 2025 season, setting an ECNL Boys record in the process. 

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