DEL MAR — The San Diego Surf Under 13 Boys had an incredible run in the Elite Clubs National League playoffs, wrapping it up with its 12th National Championship for the Surf Soccer program.
This newly crowned National Championship title comes on the heels of The ECNL announcing San Diego Surf as the first-ever ECNL Boys Overall Club Champion. This honor is awarded to the club that has earned the highest point totals from regular-season conference titles, advancement into the ECNL national playoffs and finals, and overall success in these postseason events. Achieving this recognition is no small feat, requiring consistent excellence across all age groups throughout the 2020-21 season.
Two ECNL conference rivals, met for one last match this season, but this time, a National Championship was on the line. San Diego Surf and Legends FC battled it out on the pitch in St. Louis, giving everything they had to bring home the National Championship hardware. The two teams traded chances throughout the match, but just like their regular-season meeting, it was San Diego Surf that was able to pull ahead.
The defense was key for Surf, limiting scoring chances for Legends FC and allowing San Diego to play out of the back. Their defense fueled the offense, and when Surf took the 1-0 lead, the team could control the pace for the remainder of the match, resulting in a 2-0 win for the San Diego Surf Boys.
“Winning a national championship is a moment of euphoria and celebration that is only achieved by the hours of hard work and dedication put in throughout the year. This group of boys brings that every day and has so since starting with Surf at U9. I couldn’t think of a better group of boys to represent the history they made at Surf as National Champions,” said Josh Henderson, Surf Soccer senior director of coaching. “These boys have the winning mentality and are already ramped up to win the next one and are focusing their sights on the Surf Cup 2022 Best of the Best title.”
