MOUNT VERNON – Last year’s first all-girls Mount Vernon Sting 9U traveling team was such a hit, they doubled in size and expanded.
“In the past, girls in Mount Vernon have normally played on co-ed teams with boys,” Sting girls 9U coach Travis Keller said. “Last year, some of the girls were playing up in age group, but we put together 12 players in total. This year, we had a total of 24 players. So we have a 9U and a 10U team.”
It’s not that the girls couldn’t hold their own against the boys.
“At this young age level, there’s not as much difference in talent level or physicality,” Keller said. “Throughout these age groups, the girls have exceptional talent, and it’s nice for them to be in an environment with other friends who they are used to hanging out with. They are also playing other all-girls teams.”
The girls seem to like the arrangement.
“It seems more right on a team with all girls, instead of boys and girls,” Mount Vernon Sting 9U player Delaney Newell (age eight) said. “I feel like (boys and girls) play the same (skill-wise).”
Her teammate, 9-year-old Madeline Lewis, likes the way her fellow players communicate.
“I like it better because I like hanging around girls better a lot of the time,” she said. “The girls talk more with each other.”
Both the 9U and 10U girls endured a rain-soaked Buckeye Cup Tournament at Alford-Reese Park in Newark on Saturday and Sunday, May 8–9, with the 9U girls coming out as runners-up against some pretty tough competition.
The 9U girls team lost 8-2 to the Dublin (DSX) Green Widows, the eventual Buckeye Cup winners. They did not, however, allow a goal in their final three matches. The Sting’s 9U girls defeated Xtabi once and Coshocton twice, all by identical 3-0 scores.
Sunday’s rain was so intense that the award ceremony was put off until after practice on Monday, May 10, when the 9U girls received their medals and a runner-up plaque for their accomplishment. That makes the 9U squad the very first finalist medal girls team in Sting history.
If that wasn’t enough, Newell had a big individual moment in Newark last weekend.
“I scored my first goal ever in that tournament,” she said. “I guess I only score in the rain. It just felt good, because everybody was cheering me on and everybody wanted me to get my first goal.”
These girls are an active part of the local girls and women’s soccer community.
“We also focus on giving them soccer exposure and soccer experiences,” Keller said. “We have taken them to the Mount Vernon High School girls soccer matches, where they subbed as ball girls. They got to be announced before the game. They got to play a halftime match on the turf field. The Mount Vernon Nazarene University soccer team came here and provided instruction at one of our practices.”
The success of the United States Women’s National soccer team has gained a lot of international attention, inspiring many girls to take up soccer.
“Last year, before the pandemic, we took them to Crew Stadium to see the U.S. Women’s National Team play a match against Sweden,” Keller said. “So we tried to expose them to high levels of play.”
Lewis, like her hero, USA Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan Carrasco, plays center-forward. Lewis also plays midfield, but she played a lot of defense in the tournament in Newark. Her play in the backfield was instrumental in her team’s shutouts.
She takes mental notes while watching college and pro players.
“Seeing the (US Women’s Team) was interesting,“ Lewis said. “Part of why I want to play soccer is because of watching them. That’s part of how I learn how to play. I’ve seen them on television a few times too. I don’t always watch the games, but if my mom can find the channel, we watch them. My favorite player is Alex Morgan.”
