They juggled soccer balls, told dirty jokes, and, in
general, exuded the sort of bright-eyed enthusiasm that made us wish we were
in high school again. For the first time, D Magazine attempted to
photograph every girl from the Lake Highlands Girls Classic League who got a
scholarship to play college soccer next year. It was quite an endeavor.
There are about 100 of them; we got 69.
Each spring following Signing Day, local newspapers list the college sport
scholarship winners and the high schools from which they’ll graduate. It’s a
tradition based on the popularity of high school football. But it doesn’t
make sense for soccer. The best soccer players in North Texas might play for
their high schools during the regular season, but their hearts (and cleats)
belong to their youth league teams. And that’s where the LHGCL is tops.
Of all the region’s scholarship recipients this year, at least three
quarters have devoted their game to clubs in the LHGCL. With alumnae on the
U.S. Women’s National Team, the LHGCL is widely regarded as one of the top
recruiting grounds in the country. This year, Soccer America
magazine listed the nation’s top 20 girl’s youth clubs. Three LHGCL teams
made the list: the Dallas Texans, the D’Feeters, and the Dallas Sting.
As the photo shoot wrapped up and our photographer climbed down from her
perch in the bleachers, the players dribbled the balls off the field and
toward their high-scoring futures.
<<
Full Rides, All Around
When the 2005 soccer season rolls around, Texans will have eight
more reasons to root for the home team, especially because the Longhorns,
Mustangs, and Aggies are regulars among the NCAA Top 25 Women’s Soccer
Teams. Clockwise from top left:
Amy Bennett, SMU; Krystal Bailey, SMU;
Caitlin Kennedy, UT; Kimber Bailey, SMU;
Greta Carter, SMU; Kelsey Carpenter, UT;
Amy Berend, Texas A&M; Marisa Schieda, SMU.
(Not pictured: Kelly Wilmoth, Texas A&M; Allison
Brill, SMU.)
Bending it Like Beckham >>
This fall Kerri Hanks will either be
fighting for the Irish on a full scholarship to Notre Dame or playing for
the red, white, and blue in the World Cup in Thailand. A forward for the
Women’s National Team in the under-19 division, she’s also a top player in
the Olympic Development Program, which turns leaguers into Mia Hamms. To
play in Thailand, she’ll have to qualify in May (as she has in the past). If
she does, she’ll start at Notre Dame in spring 2005, alongside her Texans 86
teammate Lauren Karas.
