Meet the 3v3 youth soccer team from Albuquerque pursuing a national title

Bryson Hern, Sebastian Aragon, Damián Chavez and Gabriel Garcia love their soccer. Do they ever.

Not only do they love the game, they know the game. Yes, they’re kids, none of whom has seen his 11th birthday. But they’ve been playing soccer for a while now and can discuss the game intelligently and articulately at multiple levels of the sport.

“I’ve been playing for seven years,” Bryson said — yes, that’s right, since he was 3.

Yet, when it came to 3v3 soccer, these four Albuquerque youngsters were veritable babes in the woods as 2023 began. This scaled-down, lightning-fast version of their favorite sport was new to them.

Well, look at them now.

Playing as Westside United Lobos, coached by Gabriel’s father, Francisco Garcia, the four — only three play at any one time — dribbled, passed, defended and shot their way through state and regional tournaments and qualified for 3v3 Live National Championships in Foley, Alabama.

Saturday and Sunday, they’ll play in pursuit of a national title.

“They’re doing amazing,” Francisco Garcia said of his four 3v3ers. “Their footwork, their one-touches, their determination and their skill. It’s improved a lot.”

The lineup:

• Bryson, 10, a student at Sunset View Elementary. Favorite team: Liverpool FC.
• Sebastian, 10, Explore Academy Charter School. Favorite team: Real Madrid.
• Damián, 9, Susie Rayos Marmon Elementary. Favorite teams: Inter Miami and Paris-St. Germain.
• Gabriel, 10, Sunset View. Favorite team: PSG.

They’ve all been playing regulation soccer — actually, nine-on-nine for another year or so — for Westside United SC, a well-established Albuquerque club. Francisco Garcia, who played soccer at Eldorado High and Otero College in Colorado, was looking to give his son a different soccer experience when he hand-picked three of Gabriel’s U11 Westside United teammates to form a 3v3 team.

The competitive aspect, he said, wasn’t really at the forefront initially. But the four kids picked it up quickly.

In June, the boys traveled to a 3v3 tournament in Roswell.

“We didn’t know what to expect or what was gonna happen,” Sebastian said.

After losing their first game 5-3 to the Clovis Wolfpack, WSU Lobos bounced back with a victory over Roswell Tsunami (9-2) but then lost 7-3 to Cruz Azul Minions of Lubbock, Texas.

After another loss to CruzAzul (3-1), the Lobos needed win a return match against Clovis Wolfpack to finish in third place and advance to regionals. They did so, 6-4.

“The last game,” Gabriel said, “it was intense.”

All of that happened on one day — the first match at 3 p.m., the last at 9:30.

Then came regionals in Lubbock on Aug. 5.

The four boys had traveled to tournaments out of state before, with WSU U11. But, Damián said, “We’d never been to a tournament that could lead to nationals.”

Again, the Lobos dropped their first match, this time 8-5 to the nemesis Cruz Azul-Minions. They responded with a 10-0 rout of Fever United Abilene and a 6-3 victory over Clovis Academy — clinching a second-place finish and a trip to nationals.

WSU lost to Cruz Azul, this time 4-3, in the championship game.

Again, that all happened in one day.

Nationals take place over two days, with each team playing four times on Saturday to determine seedings for Sunday.

WSU will open play on Saturday against Tennessee Ginga, followed by matches against Madrid juniors (Illinois), Blackbirds (Arkansas) and Diamond Dogs (Alabama).

Sunday? That depends on Saturday.

The WSU Lobos are nothing if not confident.

“We’re gonna win,” Damian said.

About 3v3 soccer …

The name of the company is 3v3 Live. It stages regionals and a national tournament each year and sanctions qualifying tournaments around the country.

Matches are played on a field 30 yards wide and 40 yards long, or thereabouts. There are no goalkeepers, but there’s a 10 foot-by-8 foot box in front of each goal. Goals cannot be scored from inside those boxes.

Goals must be scored from each team’s offensive half of the field. The goals are 4 feet high and 6 feet wide.

Matches consist of two 10-minute halves, separated by a 2-minute break. A 10-goal “mercy rule” is in force.

The Albuquerque metro area has come late to the game; Westside United Lobos are the first metro team to play at nationals, at least according to the available data.

Teams from Roswell, Artesia and Clovis have played at nationals the past few years. OTF, an adult team from Roswell, won a championship last year.

And WSU Lobos won’t be alone representing New Mexico this weekend in Foley, Alabama.

The list:

• OTF (Roswell), adult men.
• Artesia United ‘09, U15 boys.
• Artesia United ‘10, U14 boys.
• Westside United Lobos, U11 boys.
• Shakedown (Artesia), U14 girls.

What’s the key to winning in 3v3?

“Just passing and chemistry, honestly,” said coach Garcia. “If the boys have chemistry, they know where the other players are gonna be.

“It’s something you can’t really teach. And (his players) do have it, yes.”