When Central Kansas United arrives in Southern California for the UPSL Final Four, several players will be returning home.

With the Final Four hosted at UCLA’s Drake Stadium in Westwood, California, friends and family will have the opportunity to watch this year’s CKU team in person for the first time.

Both Jorge Mejia and Andrew Quiroz won’t be far from where they grew up. Quiroz is from Temecula, about 90 minutes from Westwood, and Los Angeles native Mejia will essentially be playing in his own backyard.

For head coach Juan Maldonado, the trip is personal as well. He makes an annual visit to see family in California, and as CKU’s magical postseason run continued, the possibility of bringing his team with him became even more likely.

It became reality after Central Kansas United defeated West Texas 2-1 in the national quarterfinals, punching its ticket to the Final Four and setting plans in motion for the trip out west.

The full-circle nature of CKU’s postseason run, and the fact that the UPSL’s biggest stage has brought them to California, is still hard for Maldonado to believe.

“I would’ve never thought when I first started this that I’d be taking my guys to play in my home state,” Maldonado said.

Born and raised in Mammoth Lakes, California, Juan Maldonado moved to San Bernardino at 17, where he played at San Bernardino Valley College before being recruited to continue his career at Kansas Wesleyan University.

Maldonado told KSAL that, in addition to having family in the stands, several Kansas Wesleyan alumni have reached out to let him know they plan to attend CKU’s semifinal match.

“There’s a big KWU connection to California,” Maldonado said. “They used to recruit heavily out of there and I fell under that.”

Upon arriving in California, CKU will have the chance to train with the help of Maldonado’s former coach in San Bernardino.

“I called my coach and he’s going to let us train there,” he said. “So they get to really see what it was like for me at home and that’s special.”

By the time Friday arrives, CKU will be ready. With two matches guaranteed, the club hopes its trip to Los Angeles for the Final Four will be just as memorable as the remarkable journey that brought it there.

“There’s really no better way to end this tournament,” Maldonado expressed.

CKU will play in the second semifinal match on Friday, August 7th, at 6pm PDT (8pm CDT) against Rose City.

Another viewing party will be held at the District Eat and Play inside the Central Mall during Friday’s match and CKU is still looking for donations through GoFundMe to help offset travel expenses.