FARGO — The Tri-City United Soccer Club is coming home from the Rocky Mountains with a national championship.
Tri-City’s Under-13 boys squad captured the 2026 National Premier Leagues Finals Black Division national title after defeating the Dallas Texans 2-1 in the final Tuesday morning at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
Team members include players Camden Baker, Cal Beiswenger, Colton Berg, Benjamin Dabhi, Arthur Dahlen, Dawson Hoy, Hudson Keller, Oscar Kiyee, Henrik Knobloch, Evan Meyer, Jonah Mickels, Liam Regan, Ledion Rexhepi, Jase Roerick, Carson Schnell, William Smart and Liam Suean. Coaches include head coach Josh Balsiger along with George Gauld and Michael Regan.
It was Liam Regan’s free-kick goal that ultimately held up as the championship winner on Tuesday.
“It was so good,” Liam Regan said. “All my team came to me … celebrating with my teammates, it was really good.”
The NPL Finals, hosted annually by US Club Soccer each July, bring together the top teams from its state-affiliated member leagues to compete for a national championship.
The tournament features boys and girls age divisions from U13 through U19. Each age group is divided into Gold and Black divisions, with the Gold Division representing the highest level of competition.
The Tri-City U13 boys team qualified for the Black Division tournament by winning the Minnesota National Premier Leagues title. Playing a 22-match league schedule from September through June, Tri-City finished the slate with a league-best record of 19-1-2 for 59 points to punch its ticket to NPL Finals.
Tri-City went 2-1-0 in pool play, finishing second in its group with six points to advance to the national semifinals.
In the semis, Tri-City blanked the previously unbeaten Blue Knights out of Utah 3-0 to advance to Tuesday’s final against the Texans.
Dallas previously dealt Tri-City its lone loss in pool play with a 1-0 result, but the Fargo-based club enacted its revenge in the championship match.
“I think it was just our effort levels and how we combined together and played,” said Roerick, who scored the opening goal for Tri-City in the final. “It feels very good. I’m just proud of our team to make it this far.”
The national championship marked the culmination of a long journey for the Tri-City U13 squad, as the same core group of players had spent the past five or so years developing and competing together.
“This U13 boys team has been together from U8 and U9 and onwards, some even younger,” Michael Regan said. “So it’s really cool to just see the same families that have been together and the same players that have been together.
“So us getting better and what not is a really nice thing to see with the talent on the field but with the relationships off of it as well.”
The Tri-City United Under-13 boys soccer team celebrates after winning the National Premier Leagues Finals tournament national championship on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Commerce City, Colo.
Contributed / Michael Regan
Alongside his duties as North Dakota State’s women’s soccer coach, Michael Regan also serves as Tri-City United’s director of coaching and advanced programming.
He said that the national championship is a testament not only to the success of the U13 team, but also to Tri-City’s commitment to developing youth talent locally.
“We’ve got many teams that have done really well in other (tournaments),” Michael Regan said. “And I think it really just speaks to the dedication from the coaches and the club. Fargo, yes — but also North Dakota in general with how much the game is developing.”
Michael Regan said winning the NPL Finals is comparable to a local baseball team advancing to a national tournament in terms of what it means for the organization.
“This is how huge this is,” Michael Regan said. “I think it’s awesome for Tri-City. It’s awesome in terms of everything we do — developing players and helping players, emphasizing development and getting better. The byproduct is winning a national title.
“I know there’s been some youth baseball teams in the community that have gone to World Series’ and this is the same thing. We’re the U13 NPL national champions. It’s massive.”
Liam Regan said confidence wasn’t deterred heading into the final against Dallas despite falling to the same team in pool play.
“It was just motivation the whole time,” Liam Regan said. “We were like, ‘We probably could have won this game.’ We didn’t really have a lot of shots on the keeper, so we knew we could’ve won this game (the first time).”
When Liam Regan buried the free kick for Tri-City’s second goal, it was nothing but elation for him and his Tri-City teammates.
“We were all screaming and ran to the corner with him and celebrated and went crazy,” Roerick said. “Because we had just won the national finals as a North Dakota team. It’s very cool.”
Tri-City United U13 players Liam Regan and Jase Roerick do a media spot after winning the National Premier Leagues Finals tournament national championship on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Commerce City, Colo.
Contributed / Michael Regan
Win or lose, one of Michael Regan’s goals was to see the team improve as the tournament progressed. He believes they fulfilled that goal.
“At Tri-City, it’s about development, it’s about improving and it’s about making our players better,” Michael Regan said. “This group has done that over a long period of time.
“I think that when we lost that first game, the boys kind of knew that they didn’t play that well and we had it all to play for. So we went into game two and game three (of pool play) knowing what we had to do.”
The group of players from the U13 squad will now play in the Elite Clubs National League Regional League during the next cycle. The ECNL RL is the next step up in US Club Soccer’s competitive pathway program.
In the meantime, the team will savor the memories of being NPL national champions.
“The bond was (strong with) everybody,” Liam Regan said. “We talk to each other, we hang out with each other and we have great chemistry. It was really good for our team to win because we had a lot of chemistry together.”
Roerick said he hopes winning a national championship helps younger programs within Tri-City United push to do the same one day.
“It lets all the younger kids (at Tri-City United) look up and see if they can do better than us,” Roerick said.