Written by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer

Dexter, Missouri – MaKayla Waldner doesn’t spend her summer on the sidelines.  She is one of a select few that play for the West Kentucky United U15 Girls Soccer Team.

Coached by Aaron Fenton, Assistant Men's Soccer Coach from Mid Continent University in Mayfield, KY instructs girls from Graves, McCracken, Marshall, Mayfield, Murray, Caldwell, and Calloway counties in Kentucky.  Metropolis, Illinois and Dexter, Missouri are also represented.

The girls earned 2 wins and 1 tie in State Cup Preliminary Rounds to advance to State Cup Semi-finals that were held in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  They were the first girls soccer team in western Kentucky to do so and they beat CSC Gold (Commonwealth Soccer Club) from Lexington, Kentucky by a score of 3-2.

Their final game between KFJ (Kentucky Fire Junior) 98 Premier Red from Louisville, KY achieved them a Kentucky State Championship!  Final score was 1-0.

The team will now travel to Des Moines, Iowa on June 22nd - 26th to participate in the Regional II Tournament.  With over 10,000 teams entering their state cup across the country, only 926 advance to the Regionals.  WOW!  In the U15 Girls Soccer group only 64 teams made it this far.

Way to go MaKayla!  And congratulations to the Western Kentucky Girls U15 Soccer Team!!

 Coach Aaron Fenton (Assistant Mid-Continent University Soccer Coach), along with Julie Kinsolving (Caldwell), "B.J." Waggoner (Marshall), "Sam" Clymer (Graves), Allye Darnell (Graves), Lily Ramey (Murray), Erica Zetter (Mayfield), Hannah Bowles (Caldwell), Skylar Hargrove (Graves) and "Liz" Armstrong (Murray).  Ashley Zimmerman (Lone Oak/McCracken), MaKayla Waldner (Dexter,MO), Erica Holt (Graves), Macy Wessel (Massac County, IL), Bailey Wood (Marshall), Kaitlin "Cookie" Cook (Marshall) and Maddie Balmer (Calloway) are Kentucky Girls State Soccer Champs!

These girls know how to win and win they did!  Now let's bring home that Regional Championship!