Madrid Mack, senior at Manitou Springs High School, announced her official commitment to play Division Two womens soccer at Metropolitan State University of Denver on Tues., Nov. 15th. Madrid Mack has been playing girls’ soccer for the past 12 years and has always dreamed of advancing her soccer career to the collegiate level. 

Her constant efforts, commitment to long practices and non-stop schedule have been rewarded with almost a full athletic scholarship and granted her the ability to stay in-state while continuing her academic pursuits. 

The university is located on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, CO., and the women’s soccer team competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. “She loves the big city scene,” Evan Scherr (12) said. “And playing in a place that is in the center of our state’s capital is perfect for her.”

Madrid Mack is planning on studying biology for her Bachelor’s degree at MSU Denver, which has an advanced program geared toward success in the field. “I enjoy all sciences but mostly biology and the program opens up many job opportunities that I find interesting,” Madrid Mack said.

Madrid Mack is currently playing for a Colorado Springs soccer club called Pride Soccer Club, and she is on a team that is a part of the Elite Clubs National League. The team is named the U18 Pride Predators 04/05 girls team. 

ECNL is a highly competitive league that hosts national soccer tournaments around the United States for the best girls’ and boys’ soccer teams in the country. 

Pride Soccer Club plays in the ECNL Northwest league, competing against multiple teams from Colorado, Utah, Oregon and Washington. “I have enjoyed all the previous traveling experiences, especially last year’s San Diego showcase,” Madrid Mack said. 

This year Madrid Mack will also be traveling to Nashville, TN. and Austin, TX. for national showcasing events, after announcing her official commitment to MSU Denver. 

On the Pride team that Madrid Mack plays for two other players, Monica Yoder and Kailani Nuhn, have decided to officially commit to MSU Denver. 

“It will be nice to see familiar faces at my new home for the next four years,” Madrid Mack said. Most of her other teammates have committed to universities around the nation to continue their athletic and academic careers, including two Division One commits.

Madrid Mack started her soccer journey at a young age with her family but specifically with her father’s encouragement, help and love of the game. “She grew up in a house where soccer was always encouraged,” Benjamin Mack said. “It was pretty natural for her to want to compete.” Benjamin Mack is a biology teacher at Manitou Springs High School and the long-time coach of both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams. He grew up playing the sport in Anchorage, AK. and continued to play in college at Colorado State University-Pueblo, where Madrid Mack’s sister Brooklyn Mack also played women’s college soccer. Benjamin Mack and her mother, Lisa Quintana, have assisted both of their daughters in the difficult soccer world of competitive recruitment. 

“Madrid is coachable, that’s why she’s gotten to where she is,” Benjamin Mack said.

It takes a lot of time and effort involving communication and consistent athletic performance to be successful in the college recruitment process. “A heavy part of my commitment happened in the summer so, at times, it would be hard to get back to a coach right away,” Madrid Mack said. “Narrowing down a whole nation of colleges to find a good fit was difficult.” With another college in northern California showing extreme interest, Madrid has decided that being in-state is the best fit for her personally. “She has such a great work ethic, she deserves all she’s gotten,” Scherr said. 

Madrid Mack has to finish her time-consuming club season before taking on the Manitou Springs High School girls’ season this spring. In the past two high school seasons, Madrid Mack has earned multiple academic all-state pins, all-conference awards and was Tri-Peak Player of the Year during her sophomore season. She even received a first-team all-state award last year to recognize her success. That is just a brief summary of all the recognition Madrid Mack has received.

 “High school is relaxing and overall fun in my opinion,” Madrid Mack said. “I’m most excited for hopefully making the playoffs and doing well there.” 

As a returning captain and reliable team leader, her success on and off the field is inspirational to many of her teammates. “She’s impacted my life in such a positive way,” current teammate Cassidy Kuzbek (12) said. “She is always someone I can go to for anything.”