The Darlington School Soccer Academy U19s made it to the Final Four of the 2025 National Premier League (NPL) Championships July 9-13 at the Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Denver, Colo. The team of alumni and current students competed in harsh conditions at 6,000 feet of altitude and 90+ degree heat against the best teams in the nation.
"It was great to get these young men back together for one final dance, and they played exceptionally well after a six-week break for summer," said Chad Liddle, director of the Soccer Academy. "These current and recent U19 alumni players played with tremendous heart and passion, for they knew they would never reassemble that special group of young men ever again."
Darlington School Soccer Academy won its bracket to compete in semifinals against the Minnesota United Football Club. They had a heart-breaking loss in the last 90 seconds of the second overtime period after tieing the game 2-2 in the 87th minute to go into overtime.
"In our group, we had to beat the 2024 National Champions, the Chicago Sockers, and in the semifinal match we played Minnesota United (the largest club in Minnesota with 84 select teams), who were the 2024 National Finalists," said Liddle. "The boys represented themselves, their families, and the school with incredible resolve and class on a national stage."
Beginning this fall, Darlington School Soccer Academy will become the Southern Soccer Swarm Residential Academy and gain access to SSA Swarm's MLS NEXT platforms.
“This partnership will give our current players and recent alumni instant player pathway options during both the college recruiting process and college playing careers,” said Liddle. “SSA Swarm currently has a USL 2 team. Our future Soccer Academy players have this group of young men [who competed on the national stage] to thank for getting our program into the most elite league of MLS NEXT Academy Division."
Swarm FC is a collaboration between Intrepid Sports and Brentford FC of the English Premier League, with Southern Soccer Academy Swarm FC taking its place as the flagship club for the partnership.
Click here to read more about Darlington's partnership with SSA Swarm FC and make plans to come out and watch them compete in their first MLS NEXT home game at Darlington on Nov. 1.
Click here for more photos from the NPL Championships.
