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A Jessamine County soccer team competed in the Kentucky American Cup last weekend and in less than ideal circumstances held its own.

The Galaxy, a pair under 12 all girls soccer team, play in the Bluegrass Regional Soccer League but when the time came to participate in the Kentucky American Cup Tournament in Elizabethtown there was a slight issue.

“We took 15 girls from the two teams to form our team. Unfortunately, there was not enough girls teams that wanted to participate in the Kentucky American Cup to make our own division,” said the team’s head coach, Ryan Stanford.

There was only one option: compete in another division.

“We decided to play in a mixed division against boys and coed teams,” Stanford said. “Mixed division was not ideal but I wanted our players to get the experience in a statewide tournament against great teams in a great atmosphere.”

The club was allowed to add three male guest players from the Jessamine Youth Soccer Association to fill out its roster.

The cup was a round robin tournament meaning that the Galaxy played every team on its side of the division. The makeshift squad drew against two coed teams, one from Nelson County and the other from Winchester, and lost its first game, 6-2, against a boys’ team from Elizabethtown.

Stanford, along with assistant coaches Briana Graft and Ty Robinson were proud of the effort the players gave.

“Although we fell short of making the championship, we proved that we were just as good as any team in that tournament. One of the teams we tied ultimately went to the championship game. I told our players prior to our second game that individually I don’t need them to be but that if they each give it their best than we can beat any team out there, boys or girls. Effort is the difference between good and great.”

The Team

Carys Crowder

LeeAnn Garrett

Madelyn Massengill

Addison Masters

Laynie Post

Avery Ray

Gracie Robinson

Rylea Small

Kyleigh Smith

Emory Standord-White

Fallon Steppe

Paige Storch

Max Tsymbalyuk

Alex Van Horn

Kensly Ward

Maciee Williamson