“It’s important not to get discouraged when you’re down early,” says Lila Jarrett, a Sault United player and now international champion with the local U14 girls team.
Despite losing the first two games, Jarrett’s soccer squad fought their way to a 2-1 championship victory at the USA Cup in Minnesota – the largest youth soccer tournament in North America.
While the taste of international glory was sweet, it was just one of many positive takeaways for the center midfielder.
“If we work harder, it doesn’t matter if they have more skill,” Jarrett says. “If we want to win more, we’re going to win.”
That mentality was the team’s ultimate spark, which helped lead the girls past 30 other U14 teams in their quest of capturing the gold medal.
Jarrett began playing soccer when she was just seven years old, and she fell in love with the sport almost immediately.
“I loved it from the start,” she says. “I would even cry after games if I lost.”
This group of championship-winning girls formed a team just prior to the pandemic, training very little together going into the 2022 season.
Although it was only their first full year as a unit, Jarrett explains the chemistry is undeniable thanks to their prioritization of team building activities.
“When we’re not playing soccer at a tournament, our whole team is still together,” she says. “We’re all really good friends. There’s never anybody left out.”
Sienna Magli, a Sault United forward, says that kind of structure gives them a significant edge over other teams, especially in big tournaments like the USA Cup.
“We were talking to a team from the Wisconsin area, and they didn’t know each other super well because they’re from different areas,” she says. “Since we’re from a small city, we’re all good friends and we’re really close. I think that helped us a lot.”
The team lost its first two games in Minnesota, putting them in a tough spot early on. But Magli says they didn’t let their early setbacks deter their spirits.
“We were pretty upset after, but we met as a team and got each other pumped up,” she says.
“It was important not to get discouraged,” Jarrett adds.
Sault United U14 girls head coach Michael Magli says their team’s framework embodies a strong work ethic, which has led the squad to many positive results.
“When you don’t want to disappoint your teammates, good things happen,” he says. “Hard work sometimes outperforms straight out skill. I’m just so proud of these girls.”
The team’s coaching staff rotates through different captains during the season, and the players feel it has made a positive impact on their game.
“It’s good because it gets the whole team to realize what it means to be a captain,” Sienna Magli says. “Since we’re young, we’re understanding more to be a leader on the field. We’re all eventually helping each other in the end.”
Magli doesn’t have intentions to go competitive, but she wants to compete at the high school level when she attends St. Mary’s this fall.
Jarrett, meanwhile, has dreams of one day competing on the women’s national soccer team at the Olympics.
“I would really love a scholarship to school for soccer and see where that takes me,” she says. “Women’s soccer doesn’t pay enough at all, so that would be hard. But I definitely want to play as an adult. I just love soccer so much, it’s the best sport.”
Magli says other local teams in the Sault should never feel discouraged about representing a small town when they compete in big tournaments.
“We’re at an advantage,” she says. “Even though those other players may come from good clubs, us knowing each other makes our team so much better.”
“We come from a smaller town, but we work a bit harder because there’s not as many kids,” Jarrett adds. “Don’t get discouraged because you’re playing against a big team, they’re probably worried about playing you as well.”
The team is still competing in regular season play this season, and they’re hoping to have the opportunity to defend their title next year down in Minnesota.