A group of six boys from small town Virginia put together a season in 3-on-3 soccer that left their team, the Smithfield Flares U13, ranked sixth in the nation.

The team included players from Suffolk, Carrollton and Smithfield and played in four different tournaments during the 3v3 season that runs from late spring and early summer to January, when the national championships took place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

“They did exceptionally well, especially in the local events,” Flares coach Dale Armstrong said of his players, which include Joseph Fuller, Dustin “Dusty” Armstrong, Kendal Littlejohn, Liam Moore, Cameron Gabe and Evan Richardson.

The team, which has been together for only a year, took second in a 3v3 tournament in Suffolk.

Later, the Flares traveled to Fredericksburg to play in a 14-team tournament that lasted all day.

“The highlight of the season for me was when we went to Fredericksburg and won the tournament,” the coach said. “We were in the championship game, tied 3-3 with like two minutes to go, and Dusty ended up scoring the game-winning goal and then put an extra one on top of it.”

Each game in the tournament, a different player on the team took a starring role, and this was true for the remainder of the season.

In a regional tournament in northern Virginia, the U13 and U14 brackets were combined, pitting the Flares against older opponents.

“That was a tough one, because it’s a big step up when you go from a 12-year-old to a 13- to 14-year-old, because that’s when they get their growth spurt and they get their height and their speed,” Armstrong said.

Nevertheless, the Flares finished fourth, qualifying to compete in the Disney 3v3 Live National Championships in Florida.

“When they went to the national event, it was an eye-opening experience,” Armstrong said, alluding to the high talent level of kids from all over the country.

The Smithfield-based squad went 2-1 early on, defeating teams from North Carolina and Connecticut. The Flares’ third game of the day came against a Florida squad known as the Surge that was and is the reigning national champion.

The Surge eventually won 12-9, but “we were beating them 6-4 at one time,” Armstrong said. He said the Surge coach told him after the game, “You guys are definitely one of the best teams out here.”

Because of their strong start, the Flares were put in the Gold bracket, which ensured the path ahead would be difficult. They went 0-3 in the bracket but kept all the games close, losing by an average of only 1.5 goals a game.

Armstrong said love of the game is what helped propel the local boys to a double-digit win season and a high national ranking.

“The boys love soccer and to them, soccer is life,” he said. “They train all week, they play games on the weekends, the train in the offseason — it’s what they live for.”