MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon girls soccer program took a big step forward. The first annual Mount Vernon High School Girls Soccer Showcase brought in some of the region’s top talent on Saturday and Sunday, July 24-25, providing two days of soccer action on all four of the high school's fields.
“We had a Division II state champion (Mansfield Madison) here, and we had a Division I state runner-up (Olentangy),” Mount Vernon coach Bill Lonsinger said. “So, for the first year, we had that kind of star power. To have teams that are so good that you just say the name of the school and you know who they are, that helps out a lot. The other thing is that we got them from all areas. We got them from Coshocton, Licking, Delaware, Franklin and Richland counties, so I feel like we can grow from here.”
The tournament was also a showcase for the many upgrades that have made Mount Vernon an ideal venue for tournaments.
“I want people to see the wonderful community we have in Mount Vernon,” Lonsinger said. “I moved here from Coshocton, which was my hometown. Now, Mount Vernon is home. I love it here, and I want people to fall in love with it just like I did. Also, I want to show off our great facility. There's not too many high schools that have a facility better than us. We have two turf fields. We've got two grass fields. We also have this wonderful field house. I hope that when these teams leave here, they will tell three or four others what we have here.”
Lonsinger pictured this kind of a tournament at previous places where he had coached, but never had the kind of facilities to stage it or the kind of community help that Mount Vernon could provide.
“We could not have done this without the great group of parent volunteers,” Lonsinger said. “Yes, I came up with it, and yes, I emailed the other teams, but that was the easy part. So much credit has to go to the people that helped out. I can't say enough about Sean Ries. He's a referee and he got on the phone and called all the other referees, and that's how we got all of these referees for all of these games, and they were really good.
"The parents have been great. This is a great community. We needed the fields painted. The maintenance staff at Mount Vernon was great. We actually had the wrestling coach (Nate Cornell) come over and watch some games. He told me how great this was for the community of Mount Vernon. It's good for commerce. I'm sure the fast food places got a few more customers this weekend.”
Olentangy lived up to its reputation, fielding three teams and placing first in all three divisions. Mount Vernon 1 posted a 1-3-1 record, defeating Madison and playing Buckeye Valley to a draw. It lost to Olentangy 1, Pickerington Central and Lancaster. For the Mount Vernon 1 team, consisting mostly of varsity players, the tournament was another opportunity to face the kind of competition that will make the players better.
“It brings all the girls together,” Mount Vernon senior Makenna Brokaw said. “It's nice to have us all play together before the season to see what we can do. It also is essential for the program, because it brings a lot of money so we can have new uniforms and new equipment. Also, it really helps us to get better as a team.”
It is also a great tune up for the fall scholastic season.
“It was nice to see where we were going to stand as a team for the season,” Mount Vernon senior Olivia Reddy said. “It helps to let us know what we need to work on in practice."
Mount Vernon 2 posted a 1-4-0 record with its lone win coming against Shelby. Mount Vernon 2 lost to Olentangy 2, Mapleton, Johnstown and Ridgewood.
