"We come from such a small town that not even the refs knew where it was," says Mia Nguyen.
Madera United's U14 girls squad plays with a smaller team than most of its competition.
"At games there's only like three subs," says Emily Zapata. "Other teams are running with like a 22-man roster."
Coach Jesse Zapata says his girls have the drive to make up for the numbers.
"I thought we were playing in a higher age group because everyone was just like trees on us, just moving the ball like crazy," he said. "The girls just find a way to get the ball, work together and strike."
With hunger comes success.
After winning out of a bracket filled with the top NPL teams in California, the girls earned a bid to the national tournament in Denver, taking down teams from Missouri, Texas, and West Virginia to get to the championship game against Long Beach.
"No one knows where we were from, and then they play us and are like, 'Oh man, you guys are really good. You guys are intense.' Two of the teams were probably better than us. We just wanted it more," Jesse said.
With a 2-1 final score, Madera United brought a national title to the Central Valley.
"We were up in the first half at the finals, which brought our energy up, and winning just felt like a huge accomplishment," Nguyen said.
Now the girls are headed up an age group and up a level, moving to the ECNL regional league, proving the toughest teams can come from the smallest towns.
For sports updates, follow Sydney Berger on Facebook, X and Instagram.