(Photo Contributed) Zoe Wittkop of Le Mars was named to the All-Tournament team for the 16U division of the US Youth Soccer National Championships. She scored a pair of goals and helped her Dakota Alliance team advance to the semifinal round. She is pictured with her trophy for being named to the Best XI.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Zoe Wittkop of Le Mars traveled to Florida last month with her teammates from the Dakota Alliance Soccer Club 16U team and came home with some hardware. Wittkop was named to the All-Tournament team for the event as her team advanced all the way to the semifinal round at the US Youth Soccer National Championships.
The club team was the first from South Dakota to advance to the National Championship stage which was held this year at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
The team won all three games in their pool. They beat New York Surf Soccer Club NY Surf G06 Academy by a 2-1 score, Maryland Rush SOMD Rush 06G by a 2-0 score and Rockford Raptors FC Girls 06 (IL) by a 4-0 score.
Wittkop scored goals in two of the games. A left-side, left-footed kick made it 2-0 against the team from New York. The other came in the 4-0 win over the team from Illinois as she got a shot right in front of the goal.
The team’s run came to an end in the semifinals with a 3-0 loss to Greater Libertyville Soccer Association Libertyville FC 1974 Elite-06 Girls (IL). The Illinois team went on to claim the national championship.
At the end of the tournament, Wittkop was named to the Best XI, designated the best 11 players at the tournament. Additional awards were also given for Golden Glove and Golden Ball. Wittkop was the only member of the Dakota Alliance team to be named to the All-Tournament team.
Wittkop was a sophomore on Le Mars Community’s first varsity high school soccer team this spring where she became the first player in school history to be named to an All-Conference team in girls soccer. She was recognized as a Second Team honoree in the Missouri River Activities Conference.