The United FC Black U17 boys' team figured they could advance as far as the semifinals of the US Youth Soccer Cal South National Cup, and from there anything could happen.

Well, “anything” happened.

The unsung squad captured the title this past weekend and moved on to the regionals where they will have a heavy dose of momentum and belief.

“We have new team goals now – to win. There’s no point of taking part in the tournament if you’re not in it to win it,” said coach Bryan Wallace. “When we got to (the Cal South National Cup) we realized that the sky was the limit. We want to stay focused and go as far as we can.”

United FC Black realized its title after a challenging road that included a quarterfinal win over South Bay Force Blue that had to be decided in penalty kicks, and a final against FC San Diego B91 Gold that required overtime to squeak out a 1-0 victory.

FC Black is led by a veteran collection that has a lot of meaningful experience – an area Wallace credits for the team’s success.

Striker Dakota Collins is a big talent heading to UCLA, while winger Ryan Neil will be attending California and brings a great feel and technical sense.

Then there are centerbacks Danny Martinez and Jake Marcon (UC Irvine), and players like Chadd Johnson (San Diego State) and Justin Tucker (UC Irvine).

This strong core helped against teams like FC San Diego, which featured standouts of their own in Mauricio Diaz-Deleon and Nick Grigoriev.

“Having guys that are headed to D1 schools is a key for our team,” Wallace said. “But the biggest thing for us I think is that we prepare well for teams and organize a plan of how we want to defend and attack. If we can stay selfless in those areas I think we can be effective in any game.”