Hickory FC Wins NPSL Championship
An hour northwest of Charlotte, Hickory FC has been building something special at Moretz Stadium. Now, they’re national champions.
Another soccer trophy is coming down home to North Carolina.
With a 2-3 win over San Francisco’s El Farolito in last night’s championship match in California, Hickory FC are the 2025 National Premier Soccer League champions.
“You see a lot of tears here — and that’s because they worked so hard this year,” Hickory FC head coach Carlos Rubio said of his squad after the victory. “They deserve every bit of it. It speaks to the community, the ownership group, everyone who puts in the effort to get us where we are. It was a dream two years ago, and today it’s a reality.”
Emotions were high from the first whistle as the sides traded goals in the first half, with Antonio Pineda scoring for Hickory and Dembor Benson of the Burrito Boys equalizing off of a penalty.
Geoffroy Letienne broke through for Hickory early in the second half, scoring a set piece header in the 52nd minute. However, both sides continued to rack up fouls and yellow cards, and El Farolito never let up after going down for the second time. Pineda was sent off for a second yellow in the 86th minute, breathing new life into El Farolito’s attack.
The match was competitive deep into stoppage time, with Hickory’s Tomas Pollacchi seemingly sealing the deal with a goal in the 93rd minute to put his team ahead 1-3. Two minutes later, the Open Cup Cinderella squad responded with a goal, and the last couple of minutes were frenzied as El Farolito searched in vain for an equalizer.
Minutes later, Hickory’s squad raised their first national championship trophy.
How Hickory Got There
In their second year, Hickory FC has consistently drawn some of the biggest men’s soccer crowds in the state despite being a semi-pro side. An average of 3,967 fans filled Moretz Stadium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University each week to watch the Trees take on NPSL Southeast Conference teams like Appalachian FC and the Charlottetowne Hops. With nine wins and one draw, Hickory went undefeated during the regular season after finishing with the second best record last season behind Appalachian.
A weather delay and a forfeit saw the team advance to the conference final, and Hickory won the Southeast Conference playoff for the second year in a row by prevailing over Appalachian. The match went to extra time before a 119th minute goal from Pollacchi secured the 1-0 result.
Last year, Hickory lost in the first round of the NPSL Regional and National playoffs, but this year they maintained their undefeated record in NPSL play. In fact, the team’s only loss all year was in a friendly against USL League Two powerhouse Asheville City SC.
After defeating the Lubbock Matadors 1-0 at home in the South Regional final, Hickory FC played their final home match of the playoffs - the National Semifinal - on July 26. earning a 3-2 win over Ristozi FC in front of a crowd of over 6,247 fans. Yet again, Pollacchi had the decisive goal.
The Open Cup is Calling
Now, championship in hand, Hickory FC will look forward to making their debut in the 2026 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
“It will be really nice for the city, more than for the players, because this city — this community — deserves this,” said Pollacchi. “Bringing a big, huge game to Hickory is going to be something really important.”
Hickory’s head coach also knows what the Open Cup means.
“Super excited, super excited,” said Rubio. “I think it’s a dream to be part of the oldest competition that has a little history. We worked hard — that was one of our targets this year — so I’m super excited to bring that level of soccer into our community.”
Photos by Doug Zimmerman, courtesy of NPSL.com.