The North United Rush Under-16 girls soccer team, featuring five players from Butler County, is competing in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships this week in Frisco, Texas.

PINE TWP — Team bonding can go a long way.

It's taken the North United Rush U-16 girls soccer team all the way to Frisco, Texas. That is where the U.S. Youth Soccer Championships are taking place this week.

North United's U-16 team is coached by Pine-Richland High School coach Jodi Chmielewski. The team has five Butler County girls on its roster — goaltender Paige Miller of Butler, center-midfielders Ellie Coffield from Mars and Mia Zec from Seneca Valley, center-back Megan Park from Seneca Valley and outside defender Gracie Dunaway from Mars.

“We've never had a team make it all the way to nationals,” Chmielewski said. “This is a thrill for all of us and a tribute to how hard these girls have worked.”

Other teams in the U-16 national bracket are from Wisconsin, Texas, Utah, California and New Jersey. Utah and California have two teams in the field.

North United begins national tournament play Tuesday against one of the California teams. It plays three games in a four-team pool. The team with the best record coming out of those three games plays for the national championship.

“It's pretty rare that a travel team bonds like we have, especially considering a lot of us come from rival schools,” Dunaway said.

The North United roster is comprised of players from Butler, Seneca Valley, Mars, Pine-Richland, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Avonworth and North Hills.

Read the full story in Tuesday's Butler Eagle.