JUST two matches stand between Phil Towler and his Providence College teammates from being crowned champions of the USA.

Towler, from Allithwaite, near Grange-over-Sands, has already made history with the Rhode Island outfit after reaching the final four of the National College Cup (NCAA Championship) for the first time in the college's history.

The 22-year-old plays as a holding midfielder and will line up against UCLA in the semi-final on Friday evening at the MLS Stadium in North Carolina - with a place in Sunday's final up for grabs.

After winning the Big East Championship, Providence progressed to the quarter-final with a 3-2 win at Michigan State University on Saturday.

Proud dad John Towler, a former science teacher at a number of schools in south Cumbria, is due to fly out tomorrow (Friday) from Manchester in time to cheer Phil on from the stands.

"The big advantage is that for someone who is good at football it's possible to play at a very high standard but continue with academic study leading to a degree," said John. "Probably something we could learn from over here.

"It's a massive weekend within college soccer. Everybody aims for this and there are usually some Major League Soccer scouts there. It is quite a showpiece."

Phil went to Grange Primary School and Cartmel Priory School. He played for Cartmel School Team, Grange United and the Cumbria Schoolboy's County Side before gaining a Youth Apprenticeship at Carlisle United from 2009 - 2011.

While there he took BTEC Sports Science alongside playing for the Youth Team at CUFC, where he was vice-captain in his second year.

He applied for a Soccer Scholarship at Providence College while at Carlisle and after going up to Scotland to take an American SAT's Exam he was accepted to enrol for a degree course in Business Finance and to join the squad of the college team.

"It has been a remarkable experience for Phil and he hopes to stay on in the States once he has finished his degree in May ideally continuing to play or coach over there," added John.