Victorious in Italy: New Jersey Teens Win in San Marino Soccer Tournament

While the country is focused on the USA Women's Soccer Team's advance to the finals after defeating France on Wednesday, six Toms River girls returned home from a victorious trip of their own with a gleaming trophy, and a new love for Nutella. 

Summer Beal, Emma Sinanan, Carly Wilhelm, Kayleigh Leschinski, Kaitlyn Galgano and Jackie Manza, all of Toms River, joined Gianna Pelechety of Barnegat, Marissa Siegal of Howell and Danielle Hess of Jackson in the UK Elite team.

The girls are part of Toms River Soccer Association all year-round, and tried out for the UK Elite, which was led by Coach Caroline Moran of Somerset, Nova Scotia, in Canada. Moran, a native of Ireland, led three UK Elite teams during the tournament. 

However, the UK Elite team that was led by the nine Jersey girls was Moran's only team to make the finals.

After training for three days in Lake Como, the girls went 4-0-1 and outscored their opponents 15-2 during the five-day event.

The UK Elite team tied once against Italy during the tournament. 

"All of us had to get used to playing with the other three girls as one full team," said Summer Beal, a sophomore at Monsignor Donovan High School.

The girls spoke highly of their coach, saying that she was always "super positive" and that she would explain everything to anyone. The coach would also attend to each person individually during half time, something the girls found directly contributed to their success. 

"In those three days that she coached us, it seemed like you played together forever," said Carly Wilheim, a sophomore at Toms River High School North. 

After the victory, the girls toured Rome for two days where they were surprised by the amount of money they spent on food.

The girls raved about the gelato, stracciatella, and dipping pretzels in Nutella and rolling them in Rice Krispies. 

While the girls fell in love with Italian delicacies, they also noted a difference between Italian and American women's soccer.

"In order for a girl to be taken seriously in sports in Italy, they can't look too girly," Wilhelm said.