Who says girls can't play with boys?

The Prospect Boys and Girls Club's under-12 coed soccer team won the boys division of the PA West traveling league this season with nine girls on its roster.

Of the nine other teams in the league, only one - Mohawk with one - had any girls on the roster.

"The other organizations in our league have enough kids to field an all-boys team and an all-girls team," Prospect assistant coach Dean Barnhart said. "We only have enough players for one team, so we put them all together."

Other teams in the league are Mohawk, Neshannock, Laurel, Hopewell, Wilmington, Center, Brighton Township, Riverside and New Brighton.

Prospect has 22 players on its roster, including nine girls. Teams can dress 18 players per game.

"We rotated players out," Prospect coach John Marks said. "Every player on the team sat out a game or two."

Prospect finished league play at 8-0-1. It tied Laurel in the third game of the year. The squad allowed just 13 total goals in nine games while scoring more than 30.

"We started with defense and built from there," Marks said. "Nobody wanted to play goalie at the start, so my daughter, Jordan, volunteered and did a pretty good job.

"We put a lot of our stronger kids on defense. Not letting the other team score was a good first step toward winning," he added.

Rachel Caldwell was one of Prospect's top defenders, along with Clay Barnhart, Michael Stutz and Casey Dudek.

Cody Prelec and Cody Wilinski were the team's top forwards.

"These kids have been playing together since under-6," Barnhart said. "It's no big deal for these girls to be on the same field as the boys because it's always been that way.

"Their play has gotten to be as aggressive as the boys. They have no fear playing with them or against them," he added.

This group finished .500 last year.

"They just came together as a team this year," Barnhart said. "They play their positions better and no one on the team is a ball hog."

Marks agreed that boys on opposing teams didn't intimidate the girls.

"Honestly, playing with boys has made our girls better," he said. "You can see the difference when they play on all-girls teams. They're quicker, faster and more aggressive than anyone else on the field.

"When a girl on our team is battling for a loose ball against a boy on the opposing team, she'll bury a shoulder in there for positioning, too."

Marks is in his third year of coaching this group of players. He will lose half the team as Prospect had 11 12-year-olds and 11 11-year-olds this season.

"Our kids never get tired of playing soccer," the coach said. "We play indoor soccer through the winter, then this same team will be together during the spring season.

"It's not how many boys or girls are on a team together, or whether girls can play against boys. … It's how well a team plays as a team and how much they're into the sport. These kids have proven that."

Here is the roster of the Prospect Boys and Girls club co-ed under-12 soccer team, which finished undefeated in a boys league this season:Player - PositionTyler Allen - DefenderQuay Barnhart - AllRachel Caldwell - DefenderJacob Dietrich - DefenderDerek Dietz - MidfieldMichael Domaradzki - AttackerCasey Dudek - SweeperAlex Flecker - AttackerKyle Hinchberger - AttackerChelcie Ketterer - AttackerScott Laborie - DefenderJordan Marks - GoalieShawn McGonigle - DefenderCody Prelec - ForwardAnne Reiber - MidfieldT.J. Stockman - DefenderMichael Stutz - AllErica Umstead - AttackerMolly Weitzel - SweeperCheyenne Wenberg - MidfieldDanielle Wissinger - AttackerCody Wolinski - Forward