By Steve Svetovich
Ione Kohl Fetsko has played soccer since she learned how to walk.
The daughter of Brian and Kim Fetsko, Dunmore, Fetsko is only 13 years old and will be entering the eighth grade at the Dunmore Middle School this fall, but she has very lofty goals. Her primary one is to participate in the 2020 Olympics in Japan or the 2024 Olympics. Her game is soccer, and she is making a name for herself in the sport.
Fetsko currently plays starting forward for the Greater Binghamton United FC 01 Select team in the National League coached by Bahij Kashou and Region 1 Champions League. She made the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association Olympic Development Program team in 2014 and 2015. She was selected as one of three field players to play in the U-12 Elite Players Co-Ed Showcase Game.
“My immediate goal is to be selected for the Region I and National ODP Pools this year,” said Fetsko. Future goals, along with graduating with her DHS class in 2020, include playing at a D1 college, making USWNT, playing at the Olympics (earliest possible would be 2020, more likely in 2024), playing at World Cup (earliest possible would beo 2023), and to play soccer professionally.
Fetsko competed in the United States Youth Soccer Region I championships (GBUFC) in the final week of last month at Marshall University in West Virginia. She will be at the Region I camp in Kingston, Rhode Island from July 5 to July 9. She will hopefully participate in the USYS National Championships (GBUFC) from July 21 to July 23.
The incoming eighth grader also runs track for the Dunmore Junior High track and field team. There is no junior high soccer program, but Ione plays on the Binghamton travel team. She also played for the Pocono Snow Juniors whose coach Winga Siwale has been influential in her development.
Fetsko has been playing on soccer teams since she was five, but her interest started as a toddler. She has been participating for two years in the Olympic Development Program for EPYSA. If her team wins in Regionals, she will move on to National competition in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The up and coming soccer star is ranked 11th in her class as a student. She would like to play soccer in college and eventually work in a profession where she would design video games—one of her favorite hobbies. She also enjoys making art and hanging out with friends.
Ione was a member of the 2015 Players Development Academy Spring Kickoff champions. She finished in second place in the 13-17 age group in the Brian P. Kelly Memorial Scranton St. Patrick’s Day Two-Mile Foot Race. She was runner-up in the Joe Santacrose March Madness Tournament in the U-16 girls division. She was the GBUFC Jack Frost Tournament runner-up in the U14 boys division. She participated in the Pocono Snow Juniors 01 Girls inaugural season in the spring of 2013. She earned the 2015 New York West State Cup trophy.
Her ODP team, EPYSA Lehigh Valley, coached by Chris DaCosta, participated in the Region I tournament in West Windsor, New Jersey last month. Her team won all three games without giving up a single goal. She usually plays the striker position.
“I am very proud of her,” said her father, Brian. “I love the sport of soccer. I go to many professional games, so watching my daughter play is a real treat. She has really worked hard to get where she is. She insists that her goal is to one day participate in the Olympics. That is her main goal. Right now, I am really enjoying watching her play soccer.”