Cousin Connection helping Notre Dame soccer off to fast start

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Notre Dame soccer is all in the family for the Stickelmaier girls.

“I’ve been playing with my cousin since we were little. It’s amazing having someone I’ve know my entire life (as a teammate),” said Alli Stickelmaier. “We have a built-in bond and chemistry. We always know where each other is at.”

Cousins Alli and Maddie Stickelmaier are juniors and starters for the Big 12 Conference leading Irish. Maddie is a midfielder, Alli is a defender for the 16-1 Irish.

“Alli and I have always played on the same teams together, I think we are able to work together,” Maddie Stickelmaier said. “On the field we trust each other with the ball and know we’re going to be there.”

Their special bond seems to come out on corner kicks. Maddie typically kicks them and Alli tends to finish the play by heading them kicks home. The cousins have connected on a couple of those scoring plays this year.

“Allie knows exactly where Maddie is going to play the ball and she finds herself in that spot,” Notre Dame soccer coach Ben Ralph said. “Allie is great and going up and winning the ball.”

Maddie says she doesn’t know exactly where her Allie will be on those corner kicks, she just knows she has to get it close to the net and her 6-foot-tall cousin has a good chance for getting her head on the ball.

“We don’t plan on it,” Maddie Sticklemaier said. “But after (a goal), we’re always celebrating and saying ‘Let’s do it again!'”

Winning is what the cousins want to do again and again. Their goal is to help the Irish get to state so they can celebrate their team’s success together.

“Not a lot of people can say I have played with a family member, a cousin or brother or sister,” said Alli Stickelmaier. “I can say we’re doing well and I have a cousin to celebrate it with.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.