The Real So Cal boys’ U-17/18 Academy soccer team hopes to add the word “national champions” in front of its name.

Real So Cal, a competitive club based in Woodland Hills, features eight players from the Acorn’s coverage areas.

The club will compete with seven other academy teams at the Development Academy Finals at the Home Depot Center in Carson July 11-17. Real So Cal’s first game is against Vardar of Michigan on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

For players who didn’t compete with their respective high schools, this is their moment in the spotlight.

“This is our Super Bowl. This is our NBA Finals,” said JJ Koval, a center midfielder from Camarillo who graduated from Oaks Christian this spring.

“For a lot of players on the team, this has been our goal for so long. It’s finally here.”

Real So Cal is one of about 80 academy squads across the U.S. Academies feature some of the best prep players in the nation, many of whom continue playing at top Division I college programs.

Koval, for instance, will play at Stanford in the fall.

These finals will conclude a long journey for Koval and his teammates. The former Lion has played with the Real So Cal club team for seven years, when it was known as So Cal United.

Real So Cal is the only Southern California academy at the finals.

“We want to represent our area well,” Koval said. “It means a lot for me personally. My family support from my mom (Lisa) and dad (Jeff) and two sisters (Becca and Tatum) has been so great.”

Becca Koval plays soccer at La Reina, while her sister suits up for the Regent basketball squad.

Koval and teammate Harrison Hanley, a defender, won a CIF-Southern Section championship for Oaks Christian as sophomores.

Hanley, who has also played with the club for seven years, said he’s developed into a stronger player.

“This team is amazing. Everyone’s really good,” said Hanley, who lives in Oak Park.

“I’ve definitely gotten a lot better playing with this team. It’s preparing me greatly for the next level.”

Hanley will star at Santa Clara University in the fall.

Ryan Malden of Agoura Hills said the Real So Cal team has developed solid chemistry over the course of a long season that started in September.

“We want to play for each other,” said Malden, a center midfielder who recently graduated from Loyola High, a private Jesuit school in Los Angeles. “We work hard for each other.

“I’m most excited about playing for the national championship and having the chance to compete in the biggest game that I can.”

After the finals, Malden will take his game to Davidson College in North Carolina.

Sam Ball, a Westlake High graduate, joined Real So Cal in November.

The dangerous striker has acclimated well. Ball leads all Real So Cal forwards with 14 goals.

“It was kind of difficult at first because I didn’t know the guys,” said Ball, the 2009 Marmonte League MVP who led the Warriors with 22 goals.

“They’re really good players and they’re fun to play with. They know what they’re doing.”

Ball has traveled an interesting path to Thousand Oaks.

The striker was born in Poole, a town on the southern coast of England. At 2, he moved to Ohio and bounced around to Thousand Oaks, Texas, Paris, back to England and back to Thousand Oaks, where he has lived for the past two years.

He hopes to contribute immediately to the men’s soccer team as a true freshman at Cal State Northridge, where he will study kinesiology.

Other local players are Nathan Jasperse of Thousand Oaks High, Rio Mesa’s Michael Roman, and Craig Nitti and Dylan Weening, both Calabasas residents.

Head coach Julio Castillo hopes Real So Cal can put the finishing touches on a spectacular season after the team missed qualifying for the finals by one goal in 2009.

“The boys have a goal in mind—they’re not going to let anyone stop them,” Castillo said.