Vardarstars Selected to Represent USYSA in Europe

Four girls from the Vardarstars  Soccer Club  have been selected by the United States Youth Soccer Association  (USYSA) to attend an international event with the Olympic Development Midwest Region Program of the United States.  Kayla Mannino of Bloomfield Hills, Nicole Read of Orion Township,  Megan Siebert of  Troy and Anna Sieloff of Troy will be traveling to Europe March 17-26 with other girls  selected from the  Midwest Region to compete against teams from Germany and Holland.  The four girls, age 13-14, were selected during competition that began with their district, progressed to state selection and eventually the Regional Team.  They represent the top 72 players in the United States in their age group.” This is a tremendous honor for these girls and their communities,” said Dianna Jimenez, Region II Administrator for the Olympic Development Program.   “This trip is an experience of a lifetime, playing the best competition and a fantastic cultural experience as well.”

          The Olympic Development Program was established as a method to identify and train talented soccer players for the next level.  In this situation, the Under 19 National Team won the World Cup in 2001, the Women’s National Team won their World Cup in 1999 and also the Olympic Gold Medal as seen in Atlanta in 1996 and in Greece in 2004. 

          Kayla is the daughter of Joe and Brenda Mannino.  She is an eighth grade student at Avondale Middle School.  Nicole is the daughter of Gary and Karen Read.  She is a ninth grade student at Lake Orion High School.  Megan is the daughter of Bob and Barbara Siebert.  She is a ninth grade student at Avondale High School.   Anna is the daughter of Karl and Kate Sieloff.  She is an eighth grade student at Troy Middle School.  All four girls play club soccer for the VardarStars Soccer Club and are coached by Demir Muftari. The four girls were members of the U13 Vardar girls that won the Region II championship last June in South Dakota.