A Dream Season: Local Girls Soccer Team Heads to Nationals

When the season started, there weren’t a lot of expectations to the Northwest Optimist under 18 girls soccer team, so going to nationals wasn’t even in the conversation.

“There’s a core group of the girls, that have actually played since they were five or six years old together,” said Soccer Coach Tyler Weddle.

Playing together for that amount of time has made these girls extremely close.

“All bond by the fact that we love club, like we miss playing with each other, and we look forward to these practices, to hang out with our team, because it’s like family,” said player Makenzie Weddle.

 Coach Weddle is very particular about selection players to play on the team.

“We are looking for high character people that we can teach soccer. And so, we are just surrounding ourselves with high quality individuals and we just happen to put a soccer ball at their feet,” said Coach Weddle.

And when you preach character, you never know when it will be displayed

“The one game we were trailing, she decided she was going to go help a girl stretch a hamstring pull that she had, the middle of the play. I’m very happy that she did it, I wish she had waited until after the play was over,” said Coach Weddle.

The team placed first and second in the local leagues qualifying them for a chance to play in the regional tournament.

“So, we got to play Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, teams we’d never seen before,” said coach Weddle.

They pretty much breezed through regionals until the very last game, when Savannah saved the season.

“Two minutes left, she scores, we take the lead in overtime we get the automatic bid from that game,” said coach Weddle.

“I meant to cross it, but it had other plans, and then it went top right,” said player Savannah Wilson.

The goal qualified the team for the national tournament in Tampa next week.

“If I was dreaming? Absolutely,” said coach Weddle.

“It was really exciting because that wasn’t my last game,” said Makenzie Weddle.

The small unassuming team, now faced with the exciting but unexpected challenge.

“From the day that we left regionals to the day that the first games start in Tampa, 23 days,” said coach Weddle.  

“I didn’t think that, not that I don’t believe in my team, but it’s like so surreal, like I couldn’t believe it,” said player Liliana De Loera.

The team has been doing fund raisers to ensure this dream season doesn’t end, just yet.

We’ve been giving away free waters and taking donations, on the street side. We’ve been doing free snow cones and popcorn at Crest and taking donations there as well. Pretty much you name it a fund raiser, we’re trying it right now, from a GoFundMe me to raffle drawings.

The team leaves for nationals in Tampa Florida on Tuesday, July 8th, you can support their effort through their GoFundMe @ https://gofund.me/35b92229