The Southern Soccer Academy (SSA Swarm) Residential Program at Darlington, more commonly known as Darlington School Soccer Academy, finished their first season in the MLS NEXT league ranked third in the nation after making it to the final four at the 2026 MLS NEXT Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, in May.
Darlington's U17 SSA team completed early-round matches playing against high-level opponents with a dominant 4-0 shutout victory over Virginia Revolution SC on May 24 and a hard-fought 3-1 win over Monarchs Arizona on May 25. Through the first two rounds of the tournament, Darlington has the best goal differential in the tournament at 6, scoring 7 and only conceding a single goal thus far. They achieved a shutout once again in the quarterfinal matchup against The Saint James Academy, earning a 3-0 victory that sent them to the semifinals.
"The MLS Cup is a first class tournament," said Head of School Brent Bell, who traveled to Salt Lake City with the team. "What impressed me the most was the way our boys carried themselves and competed. It was clear that living, learning, and training together made them a cohesive team. And, in credit to the players and coaching staff, you could see the development and improvement in every player from when I watched them earlier in the fall."
In the semifinal matchup against Rochester NY FC, the teams headed to a penalty shootout after finishing regulation time in a 2-2 tie. Darlington's SSA team ultimately fell to Rochester in the seventh round of sudden death penalty shootouts.
"What a run in the MLS NEXT National Championships by our U17s," said Soccer Academy Director Chad Liddle. "Losing in a sudden death penalty kick shootout in the seventh round was gut-wrenching, but I was extraordinarily proud of how well our team pulled together."
Following the tournament, the team was ranked third in the nation in the MLS NEXT U17 Academy Division. Academy athletes Brody Wheaton ('27) and Hugo Enander ('27) finished the tournament ranked fourth and fifth respectively on the tournament's goals and assists leaderboard.
"This historic run will have us starting next year with powerful motivation to go even further," said Liddle. "The boys played with incredible heart and grit throughout the year from going undefeated and winning the Southern Division in the fall to finishing third in the nation in MLS NEXT, the top youth soccer platform in the United States! Hundreds of top-tier college programs watched our boys dominate throughout the season and at the MLS NEXT Cup. I'm proud of these young men! It will be exciting to see where they will take the program as seniors."
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