SM East’s Mary Long is a USYNT first-timer. She scored twice in friendly vs. Brazil

At the beginning of July and ahead of the U-17 Women’s World Cup in October, Kansas native Mary Long got a U.S. Youth National Team call-up for the first time in her career.

A week later, she didn’t expect to be in the starting 11 in the first match against Brazil.

“You don’t realize it until you’re standing there in the uniform,” Long said, “singing the national anthem, playing against other countries — really good ones, such as Brazil.”

It’s a privilege that Long fought to earn.

Since high school, she’s won the 2021 Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) national championship, made it there again as a finalist in 2023 (as the leading goal scorer) and played for a California-based club while attending Shawnee Mission East last fall.

Long also graduated a year early, so she could play for Duke next fall. She made the decision late, which meant taking six online classes along with the seven she was already required to take that semester. Plus the commitment of being selected for the KC Current’s preseason camp.

One class in the morning, then a drive to the Current’s training facility, then back to school for the last two classes of the day. And then, five more hours of homework and online classes at home. Somehow, she still managed to be in bed by 10 every night — a priority Long said was instilled by her mother, Angie.

But for all the schoolwork, the grind of elite soccer and giving up what many believe is their best year of high school, Long has no regrets. She still went to prom and even walked the stage at graduation with her older sister.

“(Going to Duke) a year earlier is even more of a step up,” Long said. “That’s something that’s so amazing, so I don’t feel like I missed out.”

Even with her extraordinary trajectory, Long grew her game like almost every young soccer player: in the backseat of her family’s minivan.

According to father Chris Long — whom you might recognize as one of the KC Current’s co-founders — the Long family was the “typical” minivan family. They’d drive to games and go on road trips with a number of DVDs for the kids.

She had a clear favorite, her father told The Star. “I think Mary’s probably watched it 150 times.”

“At least,” Mary clarified.

It’s a documentary called “Dare to Dream,” and it’s about the early rise of USWNT. Though it was released in 2005, its impact still resounds; the documentary that was so pivotal to Long’s childhood is about two years older than her. And the events it captured, up to sixteen years older.

“It was something that I think really was a key.” Chris Long said. “Just (Mary) seeing these powerful female role models and knowing, ‘Maybe I can do that, too.’”

One of the most powerful female role models to Mary, she added, was her favorite player, forward Michelle Akers.

“(Akers) has a health disorder where she basically runs out of energy,” Mary Long said. “And there’s one scene where they’re playing in the World Cup final, and she’s just fighting through it and fighting through it.”

Long also remembered a scene highlighting the team’s lackluster treatment by the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“The food they’re given, the hotels they stayed in, the fields they had to play on. Seeing that versus what we have now is such a crazy difference, and it makes me grateful for those women who fought for everything to be how it is now,” Long said.

After the interview, Long wore that shared U.S. crest in another friendly against Brazil that day. She expected to sub in around halftime, but tried not to think about it too far ahead.

It’s also how she approaches the minutes she gets on the field.

“Just taking each moment at a time,” Long explained. “You need to be present: ‘How can I help my team in this moment? How can I make this play? How can I stop their attack?’”

From the sidelines, Chris thinks about her joy.

“She seemingly doesn’t get tired and logs more miles than most everyone — if not everyone — on the pitch,” Chris said. “And when you see that joy, you really, as a parent, get a little choked up.”

He and Long’s mother try to watch as many games as they can. But beyond that, he avoids being the parent-coach, noting it would probably impede his daughter.

“All you want is to have your child in a position to succeed. And certainly Mary’s found a spot where, really, she has all the characteristics to do just that,” Chris said.

With her second national team game later that day, Long wanted to try something different: “I definitely want to score a goal.”

Whether that was a prediction or a promise, Long kept her word.

She broke a 1-1 tie in the 84th minute. Two minutes later, she bagged another for good measure.

Teammate Jordyn Hardman played a long ball from midfield. Beating a lone yellow jersey to the ball, Long needed just one touch: a hard, diagonal shot into the goal’s lower left corner — 3-1, USA.

For everything that led up to her brace — even before Long ever put on the red, white and blue — she kept the celebrations to a minimum.

“I’d rather just hug my teammates,” Long said. “They’re the ones who helped me get there.”