The CenCal Cosmos U14B team, based in Clovis, recently advanced to the Elite National Premier League Finals in Denver, Colo. on July 12-13.
Players from Clovis, Fresno, Madera, Sanger and other Central Valley areas will take part in the finals after advancing through regionals held at the beginning of the summer.
“We just want to make sure the community knows how hard these boys work and how much time they have put in over the last three years,” team manager Chris Ekk said. “They are one of the best teams in California consistently every year, but to make it to the top four of the National Premier League, it’s not something many teams in this area have accomplished.”
The Clovis-based team took part in regional qualifying before being a part of the final 32 teams, each group from different areas of the country.
The Cosmos played 16 games and went 13-0-3 over almost a two year period. Just over a year ago the Cosmos were crowned NorCal State champions.
“We were the top team in the NorCal league and won the championship in our age group and that earned us in the National Premier League,” Ekk said. “Some clubs are automatically in, but our club is fairly new so the only way we could get in was through winning the State Cup, which was a huge accomplishment for the team.”
The Cosmos played in the NorCal National Premier League with tough competition. The Clovis-based club was one of two clubs in their division to make it into the Elite National Premier League
A big accomplishment for a hard-working group of young men.
They won almost all of their matches, but never lost. They then advanced into the next round that was held at the end of June in Rockford, Ill. where they won all four games in five days.
The Cosmos advanced into the semi-finals where they find themselves as one of four teams left in the entire nation.
The team is looking for donations to get them to Denver before the July 12 date and community members can help out on their gofundme page.
“We’d appreciate any support from the community,” Ekk said. “These boys have worked so hard and have been one of the best teams in Northern California and California. They have gone through a lot of practice and games to get where they’re at and we know times are tough for everybody, so we understand people’s budgets are tight. We just want to do whatever we can for these boys.”
Their goal is to raise $2,500 for the boys. Donations can be made by check or via the teams PayPal link. Checks can be made payable to CenCal Cosmos and can be submitted to any player’s parent or contact team manager Ekk at 559-904-0162.