Soccer Sisters Standing Guard
BUTLER TWP — Talk about your sibling rivalries.
The Yaracs sisters certainly have one on the soccer pitch — between the goalposts.
Mackenna Yaracs enters her senior season at Butler as the Golden Tornado's starting goalkeeper. She split time in goal with then-senior Paige Miller last season.
“One girl would play the first half of the game, the other the second half,” Butler girls soccer coach Steve Perri said.
The rotation proved effective. Butler finished 11-2, reached the WPIAL championship game and allowed only 13 goals all season.
Yaracs and Miller combined to post five shutouts. Miller has moved on to West Virginia Wesleyan, where she will continue her soccer netminding career.
Yaracs recently made a verbal commitment to play for Mercyhurst University in 2022. In the meantime, she hopes to receive the bulk of the playing time for Butler this fall.
“I feel like this is my opportunity, my time,” Yaracs said. “I'm hoping to play all of the time, but that's up to the coaches.”
Her younger sister, sophomore Delaney Yaracs, will join Mackenna on the Golden Tornado roster this season.
“Delaney is pretty good in her own right,” Perri said. “They play different styles. We'll see how it goes, but Mackenna deserves the opportunity to lock down the position this year.
“She's earned it.”
Delaney's not planning on stepping aside and letting her big sister have it.“I want to give her competition,” Delaney said. “I'm going to try to earn some time in goal myself. Like everybody else, I want to play.“We've always been competitive in everything our whole life. Mackenna inspires me. She's been through this. She's experienced. I learn a lot from her.”By the time Delaney is a senior, she will realize what Mackenna's experiencing right now. Their other sister, eighth-grader Kaylen, is also a soccer goalkeeper.“Mackenna is a senior with a sophomore sister trying to get some playing time at her position,” Perri said. “When Delaney is a senior, Kaylen will be looking to do the same thing with her.“It's kind of crazy when you think about it.”All three Yaracs sisters have been goalkeepers since they began playing youth soccer. They have all played for Northern Steel — a travel soccer organization Perri works for — and been starters in net for their respective teams.“I've known the Yaracs family for a long time,” Perri said. “They all love the position and they're all good at it. They will compete with each other, there's no question of that.”Kaylen enjoys being the youngest and figures she's gaining valuable experience along the way. She's been playing goal since the age of 6.“When my sisters do private sessions, I get to go along and play and practice with older kids,” Kaylen said. “I know that's helped make me better.”
Like Mackenna, Delaney and Kaylen both hope to play soccer in college someday.Mercyhurst was 4-1-3 in a brief 2021 spring season. The Lakers were 11-6-2 in 2019 under coach John Arlet, who will be entering his fourth season.Five goalkeepers are on the Laker roster, but none has ample playing experience at the collegiate level.“The PSAC is a rough, physical, fast conference in soccer,” Perri said. “There's a lot of good teams, especially on the women's side.“Mackenna will have to step her game up, but with her work ethic and watching her grow through the years, she'll make herself a better player.“Her two strongest attributes are, one, she has fantastic feet. She could play any position on the field. Two, she allows things to roll off her back. To be a good goalkeeper, you need to have that mentality,” Perri added.Mackenna plans to major in anthropology or go through Mercyhurst's physician's assistant program.She also considered Duquesne and Clarion before opting for Mercyhurst.“I love the competitive aspect of the PSAC and the direction Coach Arlet is taking the team,” she said.As for playing goal, she welcomes challenges.“I love breakaways coming at me, that one-on-one,” she said. “I like coming out and challenging the opponent. It's a great feeling, making a big save at a big moment.“I like to talk to my backline, help them position so we can move the ball out effectively. I think that's a big part of playing goal.”Delaney goes along with that.“(Goalkeeper) is a unique position, there's no other one like it in soccer,” Delaney said. “That's one of the reasons I love it.“Mackenna is a stronger kicker than I am. We play the position a little differently because of that.”After watching her younger sisters play games, Mackenna sometimes offers tips and advice.Do her siblings take it?“Not really,” she said, laughing. “They think they know everything.”Maybe on the outside.“Watch and learn,” Kaylen said. “I know that's gonna help me later on.”
