OCTOBER 8, 2009 ISSUE
Studying Abroad: Lessons in International Soccer
Three Watauga County girls—(left to right) Hannah Younger, Lillie Brady and Lydia Mauney—painted their faces for the parade prior to the start of the Dana Cup, an international youth soccer tournament in Denmark. The girls were part of the Lake Norman Soccer Club team that won the event. Photo submitted
Three local Watauga High School soccer players didn’t attend summer school in July, but certainly learned plenty.
Lillie Brady, Hannah Younger and Lydia Mauney, all freshmen at Watauga High School, played overseas this summer for the Lake Norman Soccer Club Lady Eclipse ’94 team.
The girls helped the team win two tournaments—the Lion’s Gold Cup in Ratzenburg, Germany and the Dana Cup in Hjorring, Denmark.
“It was probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,” Mauney said. “From the moment we stepped off the plane to the moment we stepped back on the plane to come home, I was in awe the entire time.
“It was just a completely different world and nothing you expected,” she added. “You were transformed for the time you were there. It’s something that some people will never get to experience and it was amazing.”
With its 2-0 win over a Swedish team, the Eclipse became the first team from North Carolina to win a Dana Cup championship, which is considered one of the top youth soccer tournaments in the world. The team went 27-2-1 (including scrimmages) during the trip, allowing just three goals in regulation and scoring 91.
Playing teams from other countries allowed the girls to learn how the sport is played elsewhere and certainly will help them in the future.
“The competition there was great. They played more aggressive and were bigger,” said Brady, who, along with Mauney, runs cross-country for the high school in the fall.
They stayed with host families in Germany, soaked in different cultures and trained hard in order to play well in the events.
Going into the tournament play, the trio didn’t think the team would make it far in the competition.
“It was a lot different playing overseas,” Younger said. “We thought it was going to be a lot harder than it was and we expected to lose in the first round. We didn’t feel like we’d get as far as we did.”
After winning the Dana Cup, an international youth soccer tournament in Denmark, over the summer, three Watauga County girls earned gold medals. The girls—(left to right) Lydia Mauney, Hannah Younger and Lillie Brady—pose with one of the medals. The girls are freshmen at Watauga High School and play for Lake Norman Soccer Club’s premier team. Photo by Jason Gilmer
“None of us thought we were going to do well,” Brady said. “In the tournament in Germany, we thought we’d do well. Going to Denmark, we thought there was no way.”
The girls grew up playing Watauga County Parks and Recreation Soccer and in the High Country Soccer Association. They started traveling to play with the Lake Norman teams two years ago.
They are driven to practices two or three times a week, doing homework and eating dinner on the drive toward the Charlotte area.
The trip wasn’t just about soccer, as the team also did some sight-seeing, including an educational trip to a concentration camp while in Germany.
Some members of Younger’s host family didn’t understand why the team went to see the concentration camp.
“They’re Germans and they lived through that,” Younger said. “They weren’t sure why we’d want to go. It was a learning experience for us.”
From a soccer standpoint, the girls learned that not every team plays like they do.
The Eclipse is more of a possession-oriented team, while most of the European teams constantly attack.
“It was definitely a different style of play than what we were used to,” Mauney said. “It helped us get better. We treated every game as a learning experience.”
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
