Soccer means a lot to Chris McKenna and Ray DeStephanis.
Both men spend countless hours each week on the sidelines, teaching youngsters the game at Philly Soccer. DeStephanis does the same as the coach at Roman Catholic High School.
They have had a lot of success and have won many championships over the years. But the most recent one? That one was special.
Earlier this month, the Philadelphia SC Surf 11 Coppa Storm Black emerged victorious in the U15 US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup by knocking off Peak Soccer Club from Utah 1-0 in the championship game, which was played in Wichita, Kansas.
To do this, the girls had to play five games in as many days, and the roster wasn’t as robust as you’d like.
That’s how these girls played their entire careers, so why stop at the championship?
“This means so much because Philly Soccer has only two national championships and we were fortunate enough to be the second,” said McKenna, a North Catholic grad who played at Villanova. “It’s always fun to win, but this was special. We didn’t have a big team. We don’t have a team full of stars. We just have a team of good kids who worked hard to win this. It’s a great accomplishment for them.
“We played shorthanded for so many games. A lot of games we only had a few subs. We only had 14 girls, some games we played with 11. Doubleheaders. We struggled with numbers, but they never stopped fighting.”
That was evident during the national tournament, where they had to play top teams throughout the country. They weren’t just battling their opponents.
“It was so hot at one point I think it was over 100 degrees,” said Aleah Dalton, a Nazareth sophomore from Morrell Park. “Our feet were burning on the turf. This was the hottest I’ve ever played in. We had to soak our feet in water to stop them from burning.”
“I would say how much friends everyone is,” said Aubrey Dussell, a Pennsport native who plays for Bishop Eustace in South Jersey. “We have such great chemistry with each other. We can read each other really well, that helps us as a team.
“I would say my teammates helped me a lot, we are all best friends and we play as a team. My coaches and my high school coach, and my parents always help me. My parents always believed in me and took time out of their day and put interest into it. They gave me a lot of confidence.”
The friendships and teamwork is a much bigger story for the Storm than the championship.
The small team has gotten through so many obstacles.
The heat. Injuries. Bumps and bruises. The low numbers have caused girls to push through. When they’d be ready for a sub, but there was nobody left on the bench to relieve them, the girls battled.
Whenever the girls hit a brick wall, they bonded together to run through it. And they relied on their teammates when they needed help.
Family is a massive part of the Storm’s season, and there is no better connection than DeStephanis and his daughter, Keira, who was a star player on the squad.
Keira, who lives in South Philly and attends Merion Mercy, had a dad who poured his heart into the season, just like she did.
Any championship means a lot. One with dad means that much more.
“My dad probably helped me the most, since he’s been coaching and supporting me at a very young age,” she said. “My mom helps a lot, too. She supports me, cheers me on, goes to my games and she supports me as a parent on the sidelines. My dad does it in a soccer way, she cheers me on. This meant a lot to us. It made it a lot more fun winning with my dad. It was a lot of pressure, he was getting emotional. He wanted to win it for us.”
Keira knew it was important to her dad. She probably didn’t know how important it was.
For the older DeStephanis, it proved to be a shot at redemption. Last year, his son’s senior year at Roman, didn’t go the way he would have liked it to.
“It was unbelievable,” her dad said. “It meant the world. I’m at Roman and we were the best team in the Catholic League last year. I missed out on my son’s senior year. I let that group down. After we won, I was sitting in the van by the hotel, and I couldn’t stop crying. Partially happy tears. It was the fact I didn’t get the boys to where I want to be, the 16 seniors. I couldn’t stop crying and being happy at the same time to know that we did it.
“Chris says from November on. We have 14 on and some games we have five at practice. And some don’t play high-level soccer. This will be the biggest thing for some of them. We are close with all the girls since we’ve been together so long, so this means a lot. And to win it with my daughter? It’s special.”
This isn’t one and done.
These girls and coaches are committed to each other and the plan is to play it out until they head to college.
They are doing it to get the girls to be better soccer players, and they’re certainly having fun along the way. A championship was just the icing on the cake.
“We were 23-4-3 after we lost to Utah at nationals, so we’re 25-4-3,” McKenna said. “It’s a lot of soccer. We had to fight through it and win enough games. Nationals was eight teams, regionals was six. PA state cup was 20 teams. So first you get through 20, then six, but you have to play four games to win. Regionals, it’s eight teams, we had to play five games in five days. They don’t do that, pros don’t do that. They played five games in a row.
“This was a great achievement. It’s great kids from great families. They like being together. We love coaching them. This was fun and a great thing for the kids.”
The team consists of Aleah Dalton, Alice Bellacosa, Aubrey Dussell, Avery Miller, Bella Holmes, Caroline Thomson, Ella Currier, Emma Sheridan, Evelyn Kay, Gianna Maher, Giuliana Russo, Grace Dorman, Jordyn Brutus, Keira DeStephanis, Lyla Santulli, Noor Grewal, Samantha Vernon and Victoria Williams.
Sponsors included Fireside Inn, Procacci Brothers, Roman Catholic Soccer, Marinucci’s Deli, autoMagic, All Trades Mechanical, Froggy Car, Sweet Dreams Bedding and Furniture, Yvonne A. Ward CPA, Primerica Advisors, Ally Partners, Sheridan & Murray, Piccolo Trattoria, Afran Law Group, Faulkner, Jewels by Alex, Texas Roadhouse, Bryn Mawr Dermatology, Sullivan Services, The Giovanni Carpino Group, Paradigm Salon, Merion Soccer, Mama Russo’s Pizzeria, BST Construction, Total Quality Logistics, Bencardino Contractors, Gilmore & Associates, Kampus Klothes and Dependable Flooring. ••
