ELON ATHLETICS

Elon midfielder Kennedy Jones will suit up for Charlotte Independence's W League side when they kick off their inaugural season May 15 at Memorial Stadium against Greenvile Liberty.

The Charlotte Independence USL W League team debuts May 15 at Memorial Stadium.

Charlotte, which plays Greenville Liberty SC at 3 p.m., will play 12 games in the pre-professional women league. The Independence men will follow the women with a USL League One match at 6 p.m. against FC Tucson.

The W League is open to elite women players in the youth and collegiate ranks, as well as aspiring and former professionals. The league protects players' amateur status for collegiate eligibility and provides a career path for women as coaches, executives and front-office personnel.

The Independence, who will play in the South Atlantic Division, have five division foes from the Carolinas: Asheville City SC; Greenville; NC Courage U23; NC Fusion; and Wake FC.
Four of the Independence’s six home dates will be played at Memorial, including a couple as part of a doubleheader with the USL League One side. Two other matches will be contested at Hough High in Cornelius.

Among the players signed by the W League side are midfielder Kennedy Jones, a freshman at Elon who played professionally in Sweden and a former player with the Charlotte Independence Soccer Club and midfielder Kelly Flanders, who also played with Charlotte Independence Soccer Club as a youth competitor and a two-time captain of the WPSL squad, where she competed from 2016-2021.

Other players of note on the inaugural roster include:

• Forward Michaela Deas, an Appalachian State commit who plays for the ’04 Independence Girls ECNL club. She spent seven years with the Lake Norman Soccer Club that won back-to-back state titles in 2018 and 2019.

• Forward Mary Alexander, a freshman at College of Charleston and former player with the Independence girls’ ECNL program. The Davidson Day graduate broke the school scoring record with 134 career goals over six seasons on the varsity squad and was named all-state five times.

• Midfielder Zoe Susi, an Arkansas commit who also plays for the ECNL girls’ team. She earned ECNL U-17 Mid-Atlantic first team all-conference in 2021. The Wilkes Central High grad scored 125 goals and tallied 65 assists. She’s a two-time all-region pick, two-time all-state and two-time conference player of the year.

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