The team that stuck together

By Sue Teggart
C & G Sports Writer

File photo by Deb Jacques Utica Eisenhower senior Alyssa Telang is one of five local soccer players from a USL ‘91 club team who will be joining seven of their teammates next year in the collegiate ranks.

Youth travel soccer team sees all 12 original players sign on to play college ball

Many athletes dream of the day they’re offered a college athletic scholarship.

For the dozen players who started with the United Soccer League’s ‘91 travel team, that dream came true for all of its players — all 12 of them.

For many teams, players come and go. But what’s unique about this group is that all these young women who started playing soccer together at the U8 level stuck together and have all reaped the benefits.

“That’s been the great fun,” said Mike McCarthy, father of Mallory, who is finishing up her senior season at Utica Stevenson, about the journey over the past eight years. “You’re traveling across the country together. Sometimes the dads went on the trips and sometimes the moms went. We watched all the girls grow up and grow together.”

Seven of the dozen players, who mostly hail from Macomb County, graduated in 2008 and have already experienced their first season of college soccer.

Five more players have just begun their final spring season before taking on the new challenges that await them on the college pitch.

For Jeremy Harkins of Fraser, who coached and trained the USL ‘91 travel team, which became the Michigan Gators, it is a point of pride to see all his players move on to play college soccer.

“It’s really a neat feeling to see all of them go on to play and receive scholarships,” Harkins said. “It’s hard to look at them as college-bound players after seeing them grow up, teaching them the basics and the fundamentals of soccer. It’s rewarding as a coach.”

Harkins said besides this group’s skills, their lasting friendship and the fact that they all set their goals together makes them unique.

“They were always such good friends,” Harkins said. “It’s very unique to see a group stick together that long in soccer. You tend to see teams now that start at U8 that there are only one or two kids left around.

“They (‘91 team) grew as friends and soccer players.”

Lasting friendships also helped this nucleus of players become successful as a team and as individuals.

“Because they knew each other so well, their skills grew far beyond what other teams may have had,” Harkins said. “They basically clicked a lot earlier than most, so they could learn advanced concepts.

“As individuals, they competed against each other (in high school). So their individual skills grew because they were competitive.”

Ultimately, Harkins said what is so special about this group — besides their athletic scholarships — is that they learned from each other.

“They all had goals to play in college as young kids,” Harkins said. “So it was almost expected of them. They shared their athletic profiles and résumés, and I think that helped drive them.”

You can reach Sports Writer Sue Teggart at steggart@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1107.

Dream team

It’s not often that a group of 8-year-olds start playing soccer together and then all wind up playing collegiate ball.

Here’s a rundown of the girls who are already wearing college jerseys and those who will join them next season.

           

Members of the original USL ‘91 team already playing college soccer and their hometowns:

• Laura Turkington, Sterling Heights, Tiffin University.

• Nicole Vick, Macomb Township, Ferris State University.

• Erika Tymrak, Macomb Township, University of Florida.

• Kelsey Pichel, Rochester, Ohio University.

• Stephanie Skowneski, Clinton Township, Western Michigan University.

• Natalie Galovska, Shelby Township, Butler University.

• Toni-Lynn DiCicco, Macomb Township, Northwood University

The five other players from the USL ‘91 squad, their hometowns, their high school teams and the college teams they’ve signed to play for:

• Mallory McCarthy, Sterling Heights (Stevenson), Northwood University.

• Alyssa Telang, Shelby Township (Eisenhower), University of Kentucky.

• Lauryn Dostillio, Sterling Heights (Sterling Heights High), Madonna University.

• Allie Misner, Macomb Township (Eisenhower), Saginaw Valley State University.

• Maddie Evens, Warren (Cousino), Schoolcraft College.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Sue Teggart at steggart@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1107.