Protecting the cup

Triangle Futbol Club works to defend title

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Photo Courtesy of Stacy Sparks

The ’96 Alliance team after placing second in Regionals in 2014.

David Adams, Sports Editor

As soccer is growing in our country, so is one of the top youth soccer clubs in the state.  Triangle Futbol Club, recently known as NC Alliance before merging clubs with Carolina Soccer Club, is a soccer club based out in the Raleigh/Cary/Durham area and also attracted players from the coast along with other cities around North Carolina.  In the past few years the club has gained much success by growing and making a name for themselves.  They did this with multiple boys and girls teams winning state championships and competing in the regional tournament.  Last year, both the ‘95 and ‘96 NC Alliance boys’ teams won the State Cup which earned them a spot in Regionals.  This year, the ’96 TFC Alliance team looks to continue their success in state cup and have another chance to make it to Regionals in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Last season the ’96 Alliance went 10-0 in league play and won the State Cup and then proceeded to make it into the finals of the regional championship.  With a few new additions to the team this year, including Brendon Ngo and Taha Mirmozaffari, they finished on top of the tables undefeated and earned the number one seed for state cup.

“Competing in State Cup is a big deal for me,” said junior Mirmozaffari.  “It’s my first time playing in it and I feel like we have a good chance of winning it if we keep playing strong and work hard in training.”

With the team’s success, they attracted interest from multiple college coaches who have been recruiting players in the past year.  This season, nine players from TFC Alliance committed to top Division I and II colleges to continue their soccer journey at the next level.  The rest of the team is still working hard to catch the attention from college coaches.

“Playing in college has always been a goal of mine,” said senior Ngo.  “After joining the team this year I really felt confident that I would be getting looked at by coaches.”

Playing soccer at the club level is more serious and competitive than playing for ones high school.  Most players who play club soccer have been playing for most of their lives and put an immense amount of work on the training ground to elevate their game every time they step on the pitch.  At TFC, it’s their main goal to improve player’s skill and knowledge of the game.  By doing this they have a multitude of players who commit to colleges every year which helps promote the club and attract more players from around the state, along with interests from many different college coaches.