After three ECNL Boys Super Cup regional events and two semifinal matches in Indianapolis, the final two clubs left standing to battle it out for the inaugural ECNL Boys Super Cup Championship were Legends FC and XF Academy.
Legends FC made it to Saturday's championship game after defeating Concorde Fire Platinum 2-1 in the semifinals on Friday, while the ECNL Boys West Coast Super Cup Champions, XF Academy, made it to the final after their 2-1 win over Dallas Texans Academy.
In the championship game, Legends FC struck first when Arda Aliyazicioglu fired home a shot in the 9th minute to quickly grab the 1-0 advantage.
Legends' lead was short lived though as Ian Kim scored just a minute later to quickly knot things back up at 1-1.
The fast paced start to the game continued when moments later Aaron Leon fired home a shot from the top of the box and quickly XF Academy had reversed their 1-0 deficit and grabbed a 2-1 lead, just like they did in Friday's semifinal game.
The XF Academy offensive attack continued to shine throughout the first half as they tacked on goals from Eashan Patel and Lincoln Choi to extend their lead to 4-1 going into the half.
In the second half, XF Academy focused on the defensive side of the game, staying compact and trying to limit Legends' chances. That strong defensive performance along with a second goal from Leon helped XF Academy seal the 5-1 victory to claim the inaugural ECNL Boys Super Cup Championship.
"This is how we roll at Crossfire," said Patel. "We went down in the semis early in the game too, but we never gave up and we knew that even though we went down we could come back and that's exactly what we did."
Following the game, Leon was awarded Man of the Match honors, not only for his two goals in the final, but also for his game-winning goal in Friday's semifinal match to help XF Academy reach the championship game.
"This is a blessing," Leon said following the trophy presentation. "We keep raking as a team and hopefully we can go back-to-back-to-back with Crossfire and get another National Championship."
In addition to the Man of the Match honors, XF Academy goalkeeper Zachary Khorrami was awarded the Golden Glove for his outstanding play throughout the weekend. Khorrami credited his success to the strong performance of his team in front of him.
"Every game I rely on our defense a lot," Khorrami said. "They've been class for years now and the whole team has always just been great."
Following a season in which XF Academy won a record four ECNL Boys National Championships, the club has now lifted an ECNL Boys West Coast Super Cup and ECNL Boys Super Cup Championship trophy this season as they build momentum heading into what they hope will be another very successful summer at this year's ECNL Boys Playoffs.
"It's a huge achievement for this team," said XF Academy Head Coach and 2024-25 ECNL Boys Coach of the Year Leo Maric. "Winning the championship in the first year of the ECNL Boys Super Cup Championship is great for Crossfire."
Third Place Game
In addition to the championship match, Concorde Fire Platinum, champions of the ECNL Boys East Coast Super Cup, and Dallas Texans Academy, champions of the ECNL Boys Central Super Cup, faced off on Saturday in the consolation match of this season's ECNL Boys Super Cup Championship.
Concorde Fire jumped on top in the 29th minute on a well placed shot from outside the top of the box by Jonas Heiler to grab the 1-0 lead. Minutes later, Concorde doubled their lead on a goal from Emmanuel Amede and were able to take that 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
Dallas Texans battled back in the second half and cut the Concorde lead down to one on a 55th minute penalty converted by Ethan Diaz, but in the end Concorde proved to be too much as Amede fired home his second goal of the game late in the second half to secure the 3-1 victory.
