Athlete of the Week: Mary Long

Mary Long is the only freshman on the girl’s varsity soccer team. She’s been playing soccer since she was three years old, and now plays ECNL for KC Athletics. Mary has been a top scorer in the team’s first two games, scoring a total of three goals.

Q: When did you start playing soccer?

A: “I think when I was three. I just played rec with everyone else I know.”

Q: When did you start playing club soccer?

A: “I was like five or six when I started playing club. At first I played for Blue Moose, then that turned into FCKC, then I played for Legends and now I’m with KC Athletics.”

Q: What is it like being the only freshman on varsity?

A: “It’s fun, except they make me carry all of the stuff. But everyone’s super nice, so I like it.”

Q: What was your reaction to making varsity as a freshman? 

A: “Tryouts made me really nervous. I probably shouldn’t have been as nervous, but I was. I knew that I was probably going to make varsity, but I wasn’t really sure until they sent the teams out.”

Q: What was your first game like?

A: “We won 1-0 against St. Teresas. That was a really big win for us because their team is really good. Then, we played in a tournament and we beat Blue Valley Northwest 1-0, and I scored in that game. Then we lost to Aquinas in the final, but it was a good game. Then, we played Shawnee Mission South and we won 3-2 in double overtime. I had two goals in that one, and Ashley Koch scored the other one.”