Rush Jackson U19 Girls Win 2020 MSYSA State Cup
After playing together for many years, competing at a high level and staying committed to their program, the Rush Jackson U19 girls squad won the State Cup this year. They defeated Midwest United (Grand Rapids) by a score of 1-0.
This state cup is special for the Jackson U19 girls team, finally winning the championship after years of coming short in the state tournament. The group has played together for many of the past few years, taking pride in playing for Rush and each other.
“This group is really special,” said head coach Marco Bernardini. “These girls have been together, and stayed playing together since about U11. I think we’ve only added two players since the group formed.”
This group has been to the state tournament several times, but everything came together for their team in their final year of competition.
“This is the last year of this team, the core of the group are seniors,” said Bernardini. “It meant so much to all of us and the parents, too. The parents are all so amazing. They’re special people for trusting what we wanted to do, not needing immediate results, trusting me, and wanting to stay together. They created an environment when they were a young age that was different from other youth soccer teams.”
It’s safe to say that environment was positive, netting the group a State Cup championship for all of their hard work over the years.
“Any of these girls could played anywhere,” said Bernardini. “They persevered through every year, and this year, we won it all.”
As a result of their success, coach Marco Bernardini was announced as the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association Girls Competitive Coach of the Year.