The Único 13U boys soccer team was crowned the top team in the nation after a 2-0 win over the Hulmeville SC Demons in the USYS National Presidents Cup Championship game on Tuesday in Wichita, Kansas.
The title capped off a run that started 10 months ago and included victories at the Southern California Tournament and success at the Western Regions Tournament.
In the National Presidents Cup, Único played five games against the top teams in the country and allowed just one goal.
“This was such an amazing accomplishment for these boys and our Unico soccer club,” Único head coach Pablo Alaníz said. “This club has only been together for 2 years and we won our first National Cup. Our team only gave up one goal in the entire time in Kansas and our boys dominated in the midfield and defensive end.
“I could not be more proud of these boys, they trained so hard and that effort let us finish on top.”
In the championship, Único came out of the gates firing. In the 10th minute, Vincent Alcaraz was taken down just outside the penalty box and drew a free kick.
Nito Quintero stepped up to the ball and drilled it through the wall and past the Hulmeville goalkeeper for a quick 1-0 lead.
“The finals started with lightning in the background of the Wichita skies, as the sun was coming up,” Único assistant coach Rob Brennan said. “We took it to them in the first 10 minutes and had them on their heels.”
Hulmeville, the No. 10-ranked team in the country, didn’t go down quietly as they then turned up the offensive pressure for the rest of the first half.
However, Único goalkeeper Tanner Hug stayed strong as the defense’s anchor, including a one-on-one save on a breakaway attempt.
“Tanner had a tournament of a lifetime,” Brennan said. “He was by far the best keeper in the tournament and only let one goal by him in the entire national cup tournament. The boys had so much confidence with him in the net.”
While Hug was the final line of defense, the grouping of Cannon Miller, Lucas Aguilar, Henry Zylstra and Cisco Alcaraz did their job turning away the Hulmeville defense as well.
In the middle of the field, Quintero, Vincent Alcaraz, Cruz Alvarado, Bradley Brennan, Henry Medina and Josh Santiago worked together to control the pace of the game for Único.
In the second half, Único doubled their lead to 2-0 after Cisco Alcaraz crossed a corner into the box where Andrew Vasquez rose up and hammered a header into the back of the net.
“That cross and then the head ball finish looked professional,” coach Alaníz said of his team’s second goal.
For the rest of the match, Único kept the pressure on Hulmeville until the final whistle sounded and the club won its first-ever National Cup.
“We would not be here without team manager Brianna Aguilar,” coach Alaníz and coach Brennan said. “Not only did she help take care of all the organizational work she helped take care of all of the kids at the tournaments and helped raise the money from the Santa Barbara community in just a few weeks after our Utah trip.
“If she was not able to raise the money for plane flights and hotels, Unico would not be able to compete in Kansas. Also, we wanted to give a special thanks to all of the people in the SB community for donating to allow these boys a trip of a lifetime that they will never forget.”
Players include Lucas Aguilar, Francisco Alcaraz, Vincent Alcaraz, Cruz Alvarado, Jonathan Bay Mendez, Bradley Brennan, Sebastian Gonzalez, Tanner Hug, Henry Medina, Henry Metcalfe, Cannon Miller, Sergio Morales, Nito Quintero, Chris Ramos, Joshua Santiago, Andrew Vasquez and Henry Zylstra.
The team is coached by Pablo Alaníz with assistant manager and coach Rob Brennan. The team manager is Brianna Aguilar.