They weren’t rockstars, Hollywood actresses, or even professional women’s soccer players....they were a group of u13-u14 Fire girls who travelled from West Michigan to participate in the Copa Queretaro Soccer Tournament, held March 16th - 20th, but there is no doubt that each young lady felt more famous than Mia Hamm for the week they spent in Mexico.
Coach Courtney Nash commented on the experience as a whole, "We were graciously welcomed by the Los Lobos Soccer Club and the soccer community as a whole while we stayed in Queretaro. The girls were constantly asked for pictures with local players and teams and were highlighted in the sports sections of a couple different local newspapers. All in all it was an invaluable culteral experience that goes far beyond wins and losses."
The girls played four games against various local Queretaro teams, two teams were u18, another u15 and the final team u13 / u14’s. Beyond the soccer, the team gave back to the community by spending an afternoon at "Pan de la Vida", a local orphanage, where they donated over 70+ soccer balls, Chicago Fire parafernalia, and played with the orphans.
Sarah Fazio said that the highlight of her trip to Mexico wasn’t the soccer but the time she was able to spend with the kids at the Pan de la Vida Orphanage. "The orphanage was not what I expected it to be like...it made me so thankful for healthy, loving, caring family and friends...what amazed me the most was that when someone asked one of the kids what their worst punishment was, they said missing a day of school. I always dread going to school because it is something that we are forced to do, but after hearing that, it made me think differently about [school] it."
