Jason Koon

Around 100 Hickory FC fans lined the sidewalk outside Moretz Stadium in Hickory at 7:30 on Monday morning.

They were there to welcome the National Premier Soccer League's newly crowned national champions home after Hickory FC's 3-2 victory over El Farolito in the title game on Saturday. Despite controversy and extraneous pushing and shoving during and after the game, head coach Carlos Rubio said he and his team weren’t fazed by the intensity of the title match.

“It was a final,” Rubio said. “It was a very physical game, but the boys were ready, and we saw something we haven’t faced this year, and we had the right character to step up in the right moments.”

The bus pulled into the parking lot on Monday through a haze of red smoke just after 7:30 a.m. about two hours after the

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