Throughout his freshman season at Creighton University, many of Myles Englis’ friends and family members have kept close tabs on him by checking his stats on the internet and DVR-ing his games on TV.

This weekend, however, Englis’ supporters won’t need any electronic devices to watch the former Darlington Soccer Academy star.

Many of them will get to see him in person — and they won’t have to travel halfway across the nation to do it.

Englis is returning to the South this weekend when he and his Creighton teammates face Indiana in the College Cup (the NCAA soccer Final Four) in Hoover, Ala.

Creighton, which entered the tournament as a No. 12 seed, will face the No. 16-seeded Hoosiers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Regions Park.

The other semifinal match-up has Maryland facing Georgetown, and the winners of Friday’s games will meet Sunday at 3 p.m. in the championship.

Englis will have a large group of supporters in Hoover this weekend, including his parents, his grandparents and some of the former players from the Darlington Soccer Academy.

“I am so excited,” said Englis when reached by phone Wednesday night. “This season, I have (called and texted) my friends and told them to watch us when we’re on ESPN. But for them to be able to come to the game, it means so much to me.”

Of course, Englis would be excited about this opportunity regardless of where the game was being played — whether it was close to his home or on the West Coast or heck, even on the moon.

Simply being able to participate in the College Cup — the pinnacle of collegiate soccer — has created a surreal setting for him.

“This has been his dream,” said Myles’ father, Basil Englis, a Professor of Marketing at Berry College. “He started playing soccer when he was about four or 4½ years old and it became his sport. He tried a lot of other sports, but really, for him, it was no (hard) choice.”

Myles became a member of the Darlington Soccer Academy in middle school, and competed on numerous elite travel teams.

He played with the Rome Arsenal and the Cobb Football Club and has spent some time with the Olympic Development team.

“He’s been very devoted,” said Basil Englis. “Everyone is really proud of him.”

Myles has spent countless hours on the practice field, and he said three of his coaches/instructors during his time with the Darlington Soccer Academy — Chad Little, Jeff Haigler and Byron Dacy — were key figures behind his successful rise.

“They each had an instrumental role,” he said.

Creighton is making its second consecutive trip to the College Cup, and the Blue Jays are the only team from last year’s Final Four to be making a return trip.

“For this to be happening my freshman year is just huge,” said Myles. “It’s so rare for a team to be going (to the semifinals) back-to-back years.”

He said the trip to the semifinals is all the more special since this “was supposed to be a rebuilding year” for the Blue Jays.

Myles said the season featured ups and downs for he and his Creighton teammates, but he believes the Blue Jays found their rhythm at just the right time.

He said the players held a series of meetings after enduring a three-game losing streak roughly midway through the season, and the team soon galvanized.

“After that, we started picking up speed,” he said.

Now, he and the Blue Jays stand just two wins away from a national championship.

Englis said the opportunity to be a part of Friday’s game — which will be televised on ESPNU — is the perfect capper to his first season.

“First off, just to get playing time as a freshman has been great,” said Englis, “and knowing that we’re playing for a national championship is just … wow.”