Alamance Gold under-13 boys reach National League Cup finals

Alamance Gold’s under-13 boys turned an unbeaten run in Greensboro into a ticket to the National League Cup finals, giving Alamance County a youth soccer team headed to St. Louis with a résumé built on goals, shutouts and composure against opponents from across the Southeast. The trip comes after the club went undefeated in the U.S. Youth Soccer Southeast playoffs and earned its place on one of the country’s biggest youth stages.

The strongest statement came in a 6-0 win over a Mississippi team, when Cameron Hampton and Maddox Jones scored twice apiece. Romeo Benitez and Michael Mazzei each added a goal, and Noah Rivera set up three more. Against a Florida team, Hampton and Rivera each scored two goals, showing the scoring depth that has pushed Alamance Gold through the bracket.

The run tightened in a 2-2 draw with the Georgia state champion, where Xavier Barillas and Hampton scored and goalkeeper Trace Dennison made 11 saves. Dennison had already posted two shutouts earlier in the playoff run, giving Alamance Gold a back line that held up when the competition stiffened. Coach Jose Alvarenga singled out defensive work from Omar Casillas, Massimo Monroe, Evan Miller and Barillas, and said the captains, Benitez, Casillas, Monroe and Rivera, had set the tone for the group.

The finals are set for July 7-9 at Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex in St. Louis, according to U.S. Youth Soccer. The national organization describes the National Championships as the capstone of a yearlong pathway, with 13U through 19U teams from state cups and the National League converging in July. For 2026, the boys’ national championships are scheduled for July 13-23 in Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, underscoring how far this Alamance County team has climbed in one season.

That rise has come quickly. The Alamance News reported June 4 that this was Alamance Gold’s first year in the Triangle United Soccer Association, and Alvarenga said reaching a State Cup final in the team’s first season was special. Now the same core of players has moved from a strong first year to a national final, carrying Alamance County into a competition field that stretches well beyond Greensboro.