With the score tied at 1 and the clock winding down at the Aurora Sports Complex in Aurora, Colo., the pressure was on Scituate’s Aidan Farwell’s and his undefeated soccer club as he lined up a penalty kick.

“I was confident in myself as soon as the penalty was called,’’ Farwell later said. “As soon as I shot it, I knew the . . . goalie wasn’t getting to it.’’

Score!

“I was relieved, to say the least,’’ said the 16-year-old.

Eight months of hard work and preparation had paid off for the Global Premier Soccer Massachusetts Elite 16-and-Under boys’ team. With their 2-1 win over Penn Fusion on July 14, it had capped off a 14-0 season and captured the championship of the US Club Soccer Boys’ Elite National Premier League in its inaugural season.

The new developmental league, an outgrowth of US Soccer’s recent boom in popularity, consists of 16 regional leagues nationwide and features a championship pitting its top four teams.

For the GPS MA Elite squad, it was a long road to the championship, starting last November with offseason workouts and appearances in a handful of unofficial tournaments before starting league play in April.

A strong 6-0 start in the New England National Premier League propelled the team into the New England playoffs, and two straight wins there put it into the Elite National Premier League playoffs.

Three more wins put the team into the semifinals, with only the San Diego Surf standing in the way of a trip to the title game.

Farwell, the team captain and a rising sophomore at Milton Academy, stepped up in that game, scoring twice in the 3-1 win. And that, of course, was followed by his late-game heroics in the finale.

Asked to describe Farwell’s play in the championship, head coach Andrew Prosser had a two-word answer.

“Big time,’’ he said.

Farwell deflected such praise.

“My teammates were making defensive plays,’’ he said. “And that gave me the energy to push forward and make something happen.’’

That defense was led by the power duo of Medfield’s Harrison Sprofera, 15, a rising sophomore at Noble and Greenough, and Maynard’s Taha Kina, 16, a rising junior at Concord Academy.

“I think the connection [Harrison] and I have on the field is a result of our friendship off it,’’ Kina said. “Over the past year at practices and games, we have spent so much time around each other, which helps us form a great bond that is there both on and off the field.’’

The two didn’t just lead the defense, said their coach.

“Based on their performances over the year,’’ Prosser said, “they have built trust and respect throughout the team.’’

That defense rose to the occasion after Farwell’s penalty kick in the finale. With 15 minutes left to play, Sprofera knew the team couldn’t risk letting its guard down.

“I kept yelling at the boys to relax because there was still a lot of time left,’’ he recalled. “We needed composure and strategy. If we sat back and soaked up pressure, eventually we would crumble.’’

The team had another ace in the hole, 16-year-old goalie Alfonso De Vito of Newton, a rising sophomore at Middlesex School in Concord.

“Having a great goalkeeper can be the difference-maker,’’ Prosser said. “He pulled off three or four big-time saves in both [championship] games.’’

De Vito approached the Colorado showdowns with a bend-but-don’t-break mind-set, fully aware his team was going to be facing some high-powered opponents.

“Knowing that we were going up against quality teams, a goal may happen,’’ prescientprescienthe said. “My mind was focused on how I would bounce back and refocus after they scored.’’

De Vito’s crystal ball proved prescient, as both opponents scored against him — once.

Farwell and his teammates took it from there.

Jake Caccavaro can be reached at jake.caccavaro@globe.com.