High school soccer standouts from throughout the state played in the annual North-South games Sunday at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Two from the Tribe – Catie Wilson and Lacy Bryant – played in the girls’ game which kicked off action Sunday afternoon.

 

The North was defeated 3-2. Makatlyn Tucker of Liberty High School scored first, followed by Preston County’s Olivia Liston, who scored off a free kick.  Despite the loss, Wilson and Bryant said being selected was an honor and the experience was a great cap to their senior soccer season.

 

“It was awesome being able to end my season with such a talented group of girls,” Wilson said. “Everyone was so good and I was able to make new friends, which made it even better.”

 

Wilson started at center defense. Bryant contributed her talents in the outside midfielder position. Both girls earned their spots on Team North through their All-State selection by the West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association.

 

“This was really a good experience for me,” Bryant said. “It was an honor to be playing with the top 20 people in the state on the north side. People that used to be my opponents became my teammates and it was cool to see how well we connected after just one practice together.”

 

Though the game was competitive, it had a different feel than a school game, Bryant said.

 

“We obviously wanted to win, but it was our last game in high school so we also wanted to have fun and we did that,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot of pressure and we may not have won, but it was a lot of fun. When I was out there, I knew that my hard work had paid off. I was chosen to play, so someone must’ve recognized me during the season and that makes me feel good about being out there. We all had a purpose out there and we all played with heart.”

 

Joining Wilson and Bryant on the North roster were Braden Pickett, Maya Shetty and Marsh Leah of University; Casey Underwood and Lucy Thompson of Robert C. Byrd; MaKatlyn Tucker of Liberty; Emily Paugh of Lewis County; Sierra Sesto of Brooke; Kaycee Cox and Keira Hill of East Fairmont; Sophie Manchin of Fairmont Senior; Olivia Liston of Preston; Roxanne McFarlin of Washington; Jada Taylor and Morgan Glass of Wheeling Park; Maria Murphy of Central Catholic, Aspen Anderson of Morgantown, Rachel Phillips of Elkins. The team was coached by Kat Devlin and Graham Peace of University.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured above is Bryant (left) and Wilson. Below are the West Virginia high school soccer athletes representing the North team.