Warren resident Kaelen McKenna just got back from a great business trip — she and her teammates placed second in their division in a national soccer tournament held the last week of July in Aurora, Colo.
Kaelen’s Team, the NEFC Premier South U-14 Girls’ team, won the Rhode Island State Cup in June (the second title in as many years), qualifying them to advance to the U.S. Soccer Club National Club in Aurora.
In Colorado, they were finalists in their division, winning against teams from Minnesota and Washington State before finally bowing twice to Hawaii, last year’s national champs.
Kaelen, who will be a sophomore at Mt. Hope High School this fall, played on the Kickemuit Middle School soccer team all three years, and was part of KMS’s 2014 state championship team. She played on the Mt. Hope varsity team during her freshman year, and also plays on the Rhode Island Olympic Development Program (ODP) soccer team.
Other team members included:
Somerset: Brielle Tripp
Barrington: Caroline Livingston, Cary Heterick, Julian Howarh, Elizabeth Grover and Claire Grover
Bristol: Allison Burke
Johnston: Kelly Graziano, Madeline Plant and Morgan Plouffe
Smithfield: Jessica Nicholson
North Kingston: Amaya Dickenson
Easton, MA: Leah Johnson
Dighton, MA: Jillian Hughes
Mattapoisett, MA: Grace Greany
New Bedford: Jaydah Bedoya
East Providence: MacKenna Brito