—Submitted Photo fort dodge soccer players Addison Lentsch and Reese Trimble were selected to represent Iowa at the Soccer Showcase in Memphis, Tennessee.

MEMPHIS, Ten. — Addison Lentsch and Reese Trimble love playing soccer and recently the Fort Dodge teammates got a chance to work on their skills in a select tournament.

The two were selected by the Iowa Soccer Association to a team of 17 girls statewide to represent Iowa at the Interregional Soccer Showcase event in Memphis.

“I had a great experience in Tennessee,” said Lentsch, a junior. “It was so fun to see the different types of teams with different levels of performance.

“The level of competition was really good. We played against some difficult teams from all over the Midwest.”

Trimble, who is a sophomore at Pocahontas Area, plays for the Dodgers in the spring.

“It was an honor to represent Iowa,” Trimble said. “Our team was put together with girls all over the state, a few girls I have known for a couple of years and some I have never played with before.

” I feel like team Iowa was just naturally meant to play together. Our communication and positive feedback was on spot.”

The selection to the showcase recognizes some of the top high school players across Iowa, chosen for their skill, leadership and commitment to the sport. The achievement places them among a group of soccer athletes who competed against top national talent while representing their home state of Iowa.

“I learned many things throughout the weekend, but the biggest thing was no matter what kind of conditions you are playing in you have to give it your all,” Lentsch said. “We played in pouring rain, freezing cold, and the hot heat all in three days.

“It was a struggle, but we still pushed ourselves to earn three wins.”

Participation in the interregional event provides players with the opportunity to further develop their skills, gain high-level competitive experience, and showcase their abilities for national recruitment opportunities.

“Part of this event was the ability to meet with soccer specialists off the field,” Trimble said. “Team Iowa had performance, mindset and nutrition coaches on hand to discuss everything soccer.

“I feel like my take away from this event was to strengthen my love for soccer and to perform to the best of my abilities. I’m excited to take these experiences into my next season with the Dodgers.”

Team Iowa won all three of their matches, shutting out all of their opponents with a clean sheet during the event.

“Our coach challenged us to take advantage of open moments in the game and it paid off very well,” Trimble said. “Our defenders were very good at driving the ball forward and opening up opportunities for our forward players.”