Unified partner Makena Smith, 19, is in her fifth season with the team. Having played on Unified teams throughout middle and high school in the Duluth area, she applied as soon as she caught wind of MNUFC Unified at a Special Olympics soccer tournament. In her experience, the relationships and experiences fostered by the Unified team provide opportunities for connection that a conventional soccer team might not.
Smith traveled to Charlotte this year for the MLS Unified All-Star Game, representing the West alongside MNUFC athlete Andres Pope. Her most notable memory from the experience wasn’t the match itself, but a quieter encounter with one of her teammates. The Western squad was losing, but Smith hyped up one of her fellow players with a mantra: “If we can’t win, let us be brave in the attempt.” It’s a phrase she lives by as she navigates various levels of competition, elevating the experience and the journey over the result in a way traditionally competitive teams don’t.