UMD Soccer Players Keeping Busy With Superior City FC

Tobias, Eckerle, Christensen among Bulldogs-turned-Beacons

SUPERIOR, Wis.- The Superior City FC women’s soccer team is largely comprised of college soccer players from UMD, St. Scholastica and UW-Superior. This summer, the Beacons have had an influx of Bulldogs hoping to enter the fall season with an extra spring in their step.

“I just wanted to be up here in Duluth with all my teammates,” says Morgan Eckerle, who will be a senior this year for the Bulldogs. “We get to work out together and practice together, so it’s been really fun to just build that chemistry on and off the field.”

“I think our coach, Greg Kane, gave us a little nudge and was like, ‘Hey, there’s this team in Superior. If you’re looking to play, here it is,'” explained Cambelle Christensen, a junior defenseman for UMD.  “All the girls know that the NSIC as a very, very, very competitive conference. You can’t take three months off and do all this other fun stuff. You(‘ve) got to keep yourself sharp, stay in the weight room (and) stay on the field. ”

“I’ve played in other summer leagues the past few years, and this one, I would say, is definitely the best,” Declared senior Anna Tobias. “(It’s) more competitive, definitely more of a commitment. We train three times, we play once or twice (per week), so we get a lot more touches than I have previously.”

Tobias will return to the Bulldogs this fall with a team-leading 13 career goals. She’ll also be a team captain in her final season at UMD.

“I’m definitely excited,” she smiled. “You know, it’s always good to be able to be a leader in a group of phenomenal players, phenomenal girls. It’s always great to build chemistry when you’re outside of UMD, specifically, whether that’s on the field or off the field. In this case, we’re lucky enough to get even more chemistry on the field.”

Playing for Superior City has also given these UMD returnees a chance to gel with two incoming Bulldog freshmen: Gwendolyn Lilly and Alyssa Doyle.

“Alyssa and ‘G’, they’ve been doing so well,” says Tobias. “‘G’ actually plays right underneath me on the left side, and there’ll also be some times where I know our head coach, Greg Kane, always likes us to drive end line. There was a time ‘G’ didn’t necessarily go end line. I was like, ‘Try going end line. Greg will love that come this fall.’ So yeah, it’s nice to give them some tips and also just understand how they play, and they can understand how we play.”

“They’ve been an absolute pleasure to work with,” says Christensen.  “They’re two absolutely great women. Very hardworking. Very excited for the next four years to come, and it’s been a really great opportunity to have an extra two, three months with them. Yeah, they’re set up for success.”

“Even just them coming to our locker room and lifting with us in our free time and just getting that time to get to know them as people, I think they have a great idea of what’s expected of them coming into the season,” Explained Eckerle, who’s recorded two goals with Superior City FC this season. “We’re super excited to see what they can do at Duluth because they’re doing great here.”

Lilly has scored three goals with the Beacons this season, which is tied for second-most on the team. Meanwhile, Doyle has only played three games with Superior City FC due to an injury.

Tobias, Eckerle and Christensen are all focused on taking the Beacons deep into the playoffs. However, with the NCAA women’s soccer season right around the corner, they’re eager to turn some heads at Malosky Stadium this fall.

“I think our team is going to do amazing this coming season,” Declared Tobias, who has already tallied 10 goals for Superior City FC this summer.

“I think we’re kind of a wild card,” says Ecklerle. “We have a lot of new players that we’re all really excited about. I think it’ll be a little bit of a challenge to get everyone on the same page right away, but I think we have a lot of potential. I’m really excited to see what we can do.”

The Bulldogs will open their season on Thursday, September 5 at home against Northern Michigan. Meanwhile, Superior City FC’s regular season finale is this Saturday against St. Paul at NBC Spartan Sports Complex.