Arsenal, Bayern, Brighton . . . and the Ascent Girls!

In July, the Ascent Soccer U16 girls became Malawi’s first full female squad (junior or senior) to ever play competitively in Europe, and they were world class ambassadors of the 'Warm Heart of Africa.

Drawn in the group stages against top Icelandic side Throttur FC, Danish champs FC Nordsjaelland and Arsenal FC of the English Premier League, Ascent still turned heads with a roster that was an average age of just 14.5 years.

With a tournament opening 1-1 draw with Arsenal, and victories over Iceland's Volsungur FC and England's Brighton & Hove Albion in penalties in the fifth place match, it was a wildly successful week for the Ascent girls.

Attacking midfielder Faith Chinzimu, who has already been capped by Malawi's senior women's national team, led the way for Ascent with a whopping nine goals in six games including a stellar 60-yard solo run and score (video of the goal below) that earned the draw with Arsenal.

"What a week for the Ascent girls," said Ascent Soccer co-founder George Maguire. "We're so proud of their efforts both on and off the pitch, and their results are a reflection of just how hard our girls and staff have been working. They earned it."

Beyond the playing field, the girls also had a chance to do some sightseeing in Reykjavik, enjoy some whale watching, get featured on Icelandic TV and meet up with Iceland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir (both pictured above).

Another step up the mountain in our Ascent girls' #RiseToTheTop.