In the 1980s, only 10 - 15% of our players were female. All of our intramural programs were coed and some of our boys
travel teams had girls playing on them. In 1990, LMSC decided to form separate intramural divisions for girls.
In the first year, there were barely enough girls to form separate girls divisions. Each division consisted of
players varying in age by several years so that we would have enough players. All of that began to change dramatically,
starting in 1992.
Probably the biggest event to foster the rise in girls soccer came late in 1991 when the USA Women's team traveled to
China and won the first ever Women's World Cup. People throughout the USA followed the team's dramatic run to the World
Cup championship. When the team returned home, there were dozens of new soccer heroes for little girls to look up to.
Leading the way for the USA were veterans Michelle Akers, April Heinrichs and Carin Jennings as well as three young,
up and coming superstars: Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Kristene Lilly.
In 1991, only 21% of the players in the intramural program were female. By 1995, that number rose to 35% and by 2000,
the percentage of females in the intramural program rose to 41%.
1994 saw the arrival of our first powerhouse girls travel team as the LMSC Firebirds who, under the direction of Lance
Laver, were finalists in both the indoor state cups and the outdoor state cups. The outdoor cup was a thrilling, but
heartbreaking game. Council Rock had a 1-0 lead late in the game when LMSC's Claire Laver ripped a 25 yard blast into
the net to send the game into overtime. The Firebirds allowed a goal in overtime to deny them the state championship,
but the Firebirds success was a sign that the girls travel team was gaining strength.
Another big change that took place in the 1990s was the growth of adult women's soccer. A few mothers of LMSC players
organized their own little group to play pick up soccer. Their group got larger and larger as time went on. The
main ladies behind this drive were Karin Sturla (an LMSC "soccer mom") and LMSC Officer Nancy Worby who had recently
moved in from Long Island where she played in a league up there. Eventually the group from LMSC got together with
women's teams that had formed in other youth clubs, including Greater Chester Valley, Tredyffrin-Easttown and Swarthmore.
In 1997, these teams would organize together and create a formal women's league, the Tri-County Women's League with
Karin Sturla being the Founding President of the league. Karin would serve as President during the league's first
seven years. The league continued to grow with more and more teams forming and joining the league. At first the
league consisted mostly of soccer moms. As time went on, more and more former high school and college players joined
the league. Today, the league has three different divisions so that women of all ages and levels of play can participate.
The top division now features several players who played in college. Information on the Tri-County Women's Soccer
League can be found at www.tcwsl.com.
In 1999, former LMSC player Suzie Grech was a member of Spain's Under 18 National Team, helping the team to a
silver medal in the European Under 18 Championships. Suzie also appeared six times for Spain's national team.
Suzie holds dual citizenship in both the USA and Spain. Her dad, Jo Grech, coached in the club for many years
and was the person who designed the official LMSC club logo way back in 1990. Suzie also played at the University
of Michigan and is currently the head coach for the Western Michigan University's Women's team.
In 2000, the LMSC Rage, under the direction of D.J. Jones, also reached the finals of the state cups. Other girls
teams, including the LMSC Dynamite (Chris Campbell, head coach) and the LMSC Chili Peppers (Danielle Fagan) would
also emerge as powerhouse teams.
Probably the strongest girls travel team in club history was the LMSC Heart, coached by Casey Ichniowski. They
became the first LMSC girls team to win a state cup in 2006 when they won the indoor state cups. Two years later,
they won the first of their two consecutive outdoor state cup championships. In 2008, they went a very impressive
2-0-1 in the Regional competition, comprised of the state champions from Maine through West Virginia. The Heart
also won four PAGS League division one championships in five years.
Today, LMSC is able to field three or four girls teams in many of the age groups in our Travel Team Program.
Female participation in the intramural program remains well over 40%. More and more former travel team players
are now continuing their soccer careers at the college level.
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