The Marlton U12 Lightning Girls Soccer Team did something that no Marlton girl’s team has done before. The young athletes strung together one of the best soccer season’s this town has ever seen and became the only girls soccer squad to capture a state title in the history of Evesham Township.
The Lightning defeated the NJSA ’04 Bulldogs in the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 19. They reached the finals after defeating the PDA Pride in the semifinals.
The Lightning went 13–0–5 throughout their season, earning themselves a number one overall ranking in that the state and third overall in their region, which extends from New Jersey down to West Virginia.
The U12 Lightning are also currently ranked ninth in the entire country for U12 girls traveling teams.
The girls have been playing together since they were seven-years-old, explained Head Coach John Kasinski,
“These girls never quit, they never gave up,” he said.
The entire team was invited to last week’s Evesham Township Council meeting and awarded proclamations for their state championship victory.
Mayor Randy Brown and council congratulated the girls on a successful season. Brown, a current NFL coach for kickers on the Baltimore Ravens, said he was actually on the very first boys travelling soccer team in the township, which formed in 1975.
As well as the U12 Lighting, the Cherokee High School Boy’s varsity soccer team was honored for their recent Group IV State Championship victory, the second state championship the team has won in a row.
Senior Mike Ryan also became the first All-American ever from the school’s soccer program, Head Coach Anthony Gallo said. Ryan also scored the game winning goal in the 2–1 championship victory over Bridgewater-Raritan. Ryan scored 33 goals on the season.
The squad went on to win the Coaches Tournament this year as well. Gallo was also recently named the South Jersey Coach of the Year.
The Cherokee Chiefs are currently ranked 12th in the nation according to the ESPN Powerade Fab 50 Rankings.
