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Vindicator Fall Athletes: Mackenzie Cowell
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When the Niles girls soccer team beat Howland, 1-0, on Oct. 29 to capture a Division II district title, Red Dragons senior captain Mackenzie Cowell realized she did more than just achieve one of her own goals.
See, the victory marked Niles’ first against the Tigers in program history since its 1986 debut. So not only was a big weight lifted off the shoulders of the 2015 Red Dragons, but also of Niles teams of years past.
“My sisters played — my one sister graduated a long time ago — and they’ve been waiting to beat Howland forever,” Cowell said. “We finally did it and that made me so happy since no one did it before.”
The historical win — which also gave Niles girls soccer its first district title in program history — capped Cowell’s stellar career.
“Just winning it, the feeling, I can’t even explain because it was just so amazing — it really was,” Cowell said. “It was definitely a big thing — just having our whole community come together. They were even saying how excited they were for us and that made it that much better.”
While that was Cowell’s top team accomplishment, she also earned All-Ohio honors the past three seasons for the Red Dragons. She credited her individual accolades to a love of the sport since when she was 4 years old playing in her sister’s U8 league.
“Honestly, if you work hard for it, you’re gonna get it,” Cowell said. “Your hard work never goes unnoticed. I started playing when I was 3 and I constantly would play. I’d be moved up because my sister was older than me. Or I would just go and kick a ball around whenever I had the chance. Soccer was my life, honestly.”
And Cowell hopes to continue the soccer life at the collegiate level, as she’s leaning towards attending Lourdes University in Sylvania next fall and playing for the Gray Wolves (NAIA).
“I’m really excited to play on a bigger level,” Cowell said. “It’s gonna be tough, but I’m willing to put in the work.”