Passion pushes SAF U17 girls soccer team to Texas

On a hot Wednesday evening, the Southern Alliance Futbol U17 girls soccer team had its final practice before flying out to College Station, Texas. Spirits and excitement were high, and even the nerves started to set in. But the players are ready as they will be representing Macon in the Region 3, Division II Presidents Cup.

“It’s very exciting,” said Shannon Walsh, a 17-year-old defender from Houston County. “It’s something we are all looking forward to, and we worked really hard to get here.”

The team made it look simple, qualifying for the Presidents Cup. After winning the Georgia state tournament in January, winning all four games, the team received a bid to play in the regional tournament, and head coach Thiago Aleixo accepted.

The tournament begins Tuesday and will last through June 19. Region 3 includes teams from Georgia, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Alexio is proud of the success his team has had, and he has been with the same group of players for about three years and seeing the growth has him excited for the trip.

This is the first time his team will see out-of-state talent. In the past, his squad has just played teams around the state, but playing out-of-state talent will be a good challenge.

“I’m looking forward to playing against other solid people,” Walsh said. “It gives you the chance to be like, ‘Wow they are really good, maybe this is something I can take from them and improve yourself.’ ”

Goalkeeper Carolynn Dromsky — a 16-year-old from Stratford — said the team morale is high, and that was clear at practice. While the team knows it faces the challenge of competition in the Southern region, the players were really relaxed during drills Wednesday.

Alexio couldn’t help but smile when he talked about how energized his team is. He said the passion is there and the team is doing its best to help out with costs of the trip, including helping with fund-raising efforts.

Aleixo said that some of the local restaurants are allowing the team to have a promotion and get a portion of the sales to go back to the club. Dromsky is also feeling the support from the community and how it is backing the team’s efforts.

“It’s great marketing,” Aleixo said. “Last year, our U15 boys qualified to play and they won the regionals and went to nationals. So the club has seen the success last year, and now with the girls moving on, the girls are trying to follow in their footsteps and see if they can get it done.”

He said his team should be arriving in College Station on Sunday, and as the cup nears, SAF has one goal in mind: nationals.

“I’m really nervous,” Walsh said. “But we have the heart for it, and if you’re nervous, that means you care.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Passion pushes SAF U17 girls soccer team to Texas."