The Mount Saint Mary soccer team originally began in 1993. Several high school girls in the central Arkansas area began playing in a loosely organized league named the Metro League, supported by a small groups of dedicated parents and die-hard soccer fans. The girls could play for any team, so most of them formed teams with their schoolmates; thus, the Mount Saint Mary Soccer Team was born. These school teams continued with the financial support of parents and coaches because the sport was not sanctioned, and so the schools could not lend monetary support. The Mount Saint Mary soccer team won the first high school league title. However, the North Little Rock soccer team would quickly emerge as the dominate team in central Arkansas and would remain so for the next two years.

The 1994 season brought about many rule changes in an effort to further the league. One rule change stated that each girl had to play for the team of the school she attended. This rule helped balance the teams and made them more competitive. It also was instrumental in developing true school teams. North Little Rock won the league title and Mount Saint Mary finished second that year.

In 1995, Mount Saint Mary had an unusually large amount of girls interested in soccer, enough to field two entire teams. The teams practiced together but each team had its own schedule. Furthermore, each was designated by school colors: the white team and the purple team. Both teams showed tremendous support for each other. The Metro League had grown to 8 teams. North Little Rock won their second league title and Mount Saint Mary again finished second in the league. High school soccer had grown so large the Arkansas State Soccer Association hosted the first Arkansas State Scholastic Cup. Teams from all over Arkansas competed for the title. Fayetteville and Ft. Smith finished in the top two spots and Mount Saint Mary's White team finished in third place. North Little Rock did not compete.

By 1996, the Metro League had increased to 10 teams. Mount Saint Mary's soccer team had become more proficient in their skill level and became a serious challenger for the league championship. The competition between Mount Saint Mary and North Little Rock had grown into a full blown rivalry. Mount Saint Mary had beaten North Little Rock twice in the regular season and won both the league championship and Metro Tournament, but finally lost to them in the semi-finals of the Scholastic Cup. The Scholastic Cup ended with Fayetteville winning their second straight state title. North Little Rock finished in 2nd place and Mount Saint Mary ended up in third place.

The 1997 schedule brought about an interesting change which excited not only the players but also the fans. In 1997, the high school girls' games were played immediately before the high school boys' games. This really added to the support and recognition of the players by their school mates and fans. The Metro League was reduced to 8 teams to accommodate a second league which had formed in central Arkansas. The rivalry of North Little Rock and Mount Saint Mary grew very strong as did both of their teams. The games between the two schools offered the best soccer to be found in central Arkansas, both in the boys and girls games. Mount Saint Mary won one game and tied the other one with North Little Rock in league play. Mount Saint Mary won its second straight league and Metro Tournament. The 1997 Scholastic Cup featured the best high school soccer in the state as it brought together the power houses of Fayetteville and Ft. Smith from Northwest Arkansas against Mount Saint Mary and North Little Rock from Central Arkansas. Ft. Smith and Mount Saint Mary battled their way into the state finals. Mount Saint Mary scored first on a goal by Julie Williford and then Becca Carle added a second goal as she outran the Ft. Smith defense on a breakaway. Mount Saint Mary defeated Ft. Smith and won their first High School State Tournament.

In 1998, the Arkansas Activities Association sanctioned high school soccer. This sanctioning limited the number of games, instituted volunteer coaches, mandated training for coaches and volunteers, and put restrictions on the players' involvement with their club teams. The sanctions provided new rules and many changes for high school soccer, some good and some bad. The rules were a way to balance the teams and provide one set of rules for all the different leagues which had evolved in high school soccer. The AAA divided the state into 4 geographical regions. Each region hosted a regional tournament with the winning team from each region advancing to the State Tournament. Mount Saint Mary had a very strong team and the girls worked hard to live up to their championship title. Mount Saint Mary went undefeated in league play and regional play and advanced as one of the final four in the State Tournament.

All Region Team:  Stefanie Bradburn, Amber Burley, Becca Carle, Nicole Niewdach,
Leslie McKinney and Julie Williford.

The semifinal games matched North Little Rock against Mount Saint Mary and Fayetteville against Fort SmithSouthside. Fayetteville; Mount Saint Mary won their respective games and advanced to the finals. Fayetteville's team was very strong and dominated the final game as they beat Mount Saint Mary by a score of 5 -1 and won their third State Tournament.

All State Team:  Becca Carle and Julie Williford.

In 1999, the Arkansas Activities Association sanctioned a record number of forty-eight schools declaring their intent to participate in high school soccer. Forty-seven boys teams and thirty-six girls teams were fielded for the 1999 season. Mount Saint Mary Academy, having lost only 3 seniors, fielded a very strong team and again set its sites on winning a state championship. However, the competition in Central Arkansas had increased and several teams from Central Arkansas unveiled plans to upset Mount Saint Mary's goal to return to the state finals. The Mount Saint Mary and Central High game proved to be one of the best games of the league season. During the first league match, Mount Saint Mary was awarded a penalty kick early in the first half and scored. The rest of the game became a defensive battle and Mount Saint Mary escaped with a 1-0 victory. This was a wake up call to Mount Saint Mary that a new rivalry had developed in Central Arkansas. The second game again was won by a single goal; after both teams scored one goal, Mount Saint Mary scored on a direct kick and won 2-1. Mount Saint Mary had increased their quality of play during the season and played well in the regional tournament and the preliminary rounds of the State Tournament to advance to the finals of the State Tournament. The finals would once again matched Mount Saint Mary against Fayetteville. The finals of the State Tournament proved an exciting and hard-fought battle in front of an estimated 1600 fans. Both teams scored on early goals in the first half before Fayetteville scored the go-ahead goal with 24:45 left in the match. Fayetteville finished the Belles off when they scored their third goal with 2:39 left to play in the game. Fayetteville won their second straight State Tournament against the Mount Saint Mary Belles. The Belles finished off a great season with a 18 - 1 record.

The following girls received special recognition for their quality of play during the 1999 season:

All Region Team:  Ashley Haviland, Brook Keeley, Nicole Niewdach, and Sarah Stanley.

All State Team:  Stephanie Benning, Stefanie Bradburn, Becca Carle, Leslie McKinney and Julie Williford. (It was the second consecutive year for Becca Carle and Julie Williford to receive this honor).

All Tournament Team:   Stefanie Bradburn, Becca Carle, Leslie McKinney and Julie Williford.

Julie Williford was named the 1999 Gatorade 
Arkansas High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year.  

1995:  7-4-0

1995 League Play: 5-2-0    (2nd in Metro League)
1995 State Cup: 2-2-0        (3rd in State Cup)

1996:  15-1-0

1996 League Play 9-0-0    (1st in Metro League)
1996 Metro Tournament 3-0-0    (1st in Metro Tournament)
1996 State Cup 3-1-0    (3rd in State Cup)

1997:  20-0-1

1997 League Play 13-0-1    (1st in Metro League)
1997 Metro Tournament 2-0-0    (1st in Metro Tournament)
1997 State Cup 5-0-0    (1st in State Cup)

1998:  16-1-1

1998 League Play 13-0-1    (1st in Metro League)
1998 Region III 2-0-0     (1st in Regional Tournament)
1998 State Cup 1-1-0    (2nd in State Cup)

• Comments: 1 Tie in League Play with NLRHS
• 1 Loss in Finals of State Tournament to Fayetteville

1999:  18-1

1999 League Play  14-0 (1st in Metro League)
1999 Region III   2-0  (1st in Regional Tournament)
1999 State Cup  2-1  (runner-up in State Cup)

Overall Record 1995-99: 76-7-2

(*records for the 1993 and 1994 seasons unavailable)

The girls playing on M.S.M. Soccer Team excel not only on the field but more importantly in the classroom.  The MSM Soccer Team has a combined G.P.A. of 3.51

Mount Saint Mary Academy has 3 former soccer players who have competed in international soccer matches:

Mount Saint Mary Academy has produced several collegiate soccer players since the inception of its soccer team in 1993, a fact of which we are very proud:

Several of the girls that play on the M.S.M. Soccer Team also compete in other sports for the Mount Saint Mary Academy. Listed below are the number of soccer players that participate in other sports:

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