Two Dryden High sophpmores to compete for national soccer Title in Kansas

Ithaca Journal



DRYDEN — Taylor Bennett and Abigail Barr have both been playing soccer for as long as they can remember.
“I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old,” said Bennett. “It’s a way of life now.”
“I’ve been playing since she’s been playing,” added Barr, completing the thought of her teammate and best friend. “We’ve been playing together since then. I can’t remember ever playing without her.”
Bennett and Barr, both 15-year-old sophomores who play varsity soccer at Dryden High, will continue their soccer odyssey on Tuesday at the 2013 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Overland Park, Kan. The top finisher from each of the two pools will advance to the national championship game.
The local duo helped the Empire Revolution Syracuse girls under-15 team advance to nationals with a 2-1 win over PWSI Courage 97 Red, from Woodbridge, Va., in the Region I championship in Kingston, R.I., on July 2.
Eight teams, including the four regional winners and four teams from the national league — composed of all the top teams in the country — qualified for the tournament. Region I includes 13 states; the Syracuse-based team advanced to the regional tournament after winning the New York State Cup last month. Bennett, a striker, scored the game-winner in the regional championship win. Barr plays center midfield.
“It’s hard to explain how big this is,” Bennett said. “It’s almost overwhelming. It’s like a dream.”
Bennett was a fourth-team all-state performer last fall; she scored the game-winning goal against Elmira Notre Dame in last year’s Interscholastic Athletic Conference Large School final. She and Barr are the only two Section 4 players on the team made up almost exclusively of players from Syracuse and Cortland.
Along with Bennett’s mother, Janine, an assistant coach for the Syracuse-based team and the varsity coach at Dryden, they travel to Baldwinsville two or three times a week for practices. Janine Bennett marvels at the time commitment and dedication of her daughter and Barr.
“You can’t do it half-way,” said Janine Bennett, whose older daughter, Leighann, is bound for Binghamton University this fall to play soccer. “You are either in it or you’re not. Their dedication is quite high and the parents’ dedication is quite high. It has to be that way in order for this to work. These two have risen to the occasion with everything we’ve asked of them.”
The commitment is made easier by the fact that Bennett and Barr are doing it together.
“You always have someone there,” Taylor Bennett said, as Barr nodded in agreement. “It’s not like you ever going to be left out of something because it’s too far of a drive. You are always with someone.”
After the national tournament, Bennett and Barr will get two weeks off before practices begin for the upcoming high school season.
“We have two weeks to breathe after the national tournament,” Barr said. “I’m going to the beach. I’m excited.”