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.
