(PHOTO BY MIGUEL GUTIERREZ/CONCACAF/STRAFFON IMAGES/MANDATORY CREDIT/EDITORIAL USER/NOT FOR SALE/NOT ARCHIVE)
Local Youth Captures Gold Medal for US SOCCER
The United States u17 women’s soccer team participated in the Concacaf Tournament in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic April 23-May 8, 2022. Warren resident Melina Rebimbas was a member and standout of that team that captured the Gold. After defeating their first 5 opponents by the margin of 43-0, the United States was up to the task in the semifinal round defeating Canada 3-0 behind 2 goals from Melina Rebimbas and she scored the game winner in the championship game versus rival Mexico 2-1. Melina finished the tournament with 8 goals. “I was extremely excited to represent my country. Like every little kid growing up playing soccer their dream is to have the opportunity to wear the US crest and this was my dream too… but to be able to score 3 goals in the last two games was nothing that I could have imagined.”
Melina began her soccer journey in town playing recreation soccer and soon thereafter she became a member of the travel team and eventually her desire for greater competition took her to the Player Development Academy (PDA ). It was at PDA that she began to blossom into one of the elite players in the country. Rebimbas explained, “I was very fortunate to be given an opportunity early to play at PDA. Everyone at PDA is super motivated to be challenged, and they set the bar high for excellence. That expectation of excellence provided me with a blueprint on what I had to do to be successful.”
She is currently ranked 6th nationally in the 2023 graduation class by Top Drawer Soccer and has already committed to playing soccer at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Where she will be mentored by Legendary and 23-time national championship coach Anson Dorrance.
