At age 13, Marcella Cash didn’t expect much when she competed in her first powerlifting tournament.
Cash, a native of Beavercreek, Ohio — a suburb of Dayton — figured she’d likely fare equally as well as her fellow competitors, but no better.
Instead, she set state, national and world records for her age group in the squat and deadlift as well as total weight lifted, which also factors in bench press.
“I was surprised,” said Cash, now a freshman soccer player at Mississippi State. “I didn’t think I was very strong. I didn’t really expect to be that much stronger than a lot of people.”
For Cash, the tournament launched a three-year foray into powerlifting that often conflicted with soccer. She trained with her father, nine-time world powerlifting champion James Cash, and she was so busy with both sports that she’d often play club soccer matches with Ohio Elite and head straight to a lifting competition afterward.
But as the years went by, soccer won out for Cash, a top scorer in the Elite Clubs National League, one of the most competitive circuits in the country. And while she hasn’t abandoned powerlifting, the forward is making an impact on the pitch for the Bulldogs already.
“She’s a really neat girl, and we’re fortunate that she chose Mississippi State,” head coach James Armstrong said.
Making the choice
Cash was all set to compete in the powerlifting world championships in 2018. She was being sponsored by a friend of her dad’s, who even had pink singlets ready for Cash to wear during the event.
But soccer, more important for Cash at the time, got in the way. Competing in the World Championships was no longer realistic.
“It just wasn’t possible to play soccer and do powerlifting at my best,” she said.
Not long afterward, as Cash neared graduating from high school, she realized her choice had already been made. With little chance to lift competitively in college — only a few smaller schools have weightlifting or powerlifting programs — it had to be soccer.
In 2018, Cash committed to play for coach Amy Berbary at Indiana. Not long after, though, Berbary’s contract wasn’t renewed by the Hoosiers, and Erwin van Bennekom was hired as head coach. Because of the coaching change, Cash decommitted from Indiana. She wasn’t sure if she’d end up being able to play collegiately anywhere.
But she was familiar with Mississippi State, one of her options the first time around. Armstrong, a former assistant at Auburn, was acquainted with Cash from his time with the Tigers, too. He got Cash on the phone, and the two talked to gauge her interest in the Bulldogs and describe how she’d mesh with the program.
“Once we told her about our vision and how she fit in, she was excited, and we were lucky enough that she decided to come here,” Armstrong said.
Making the difference
Armstrong and his coaching staff tell their players that they have a decision to make when they’re tired: Let the fatigue enter their mind — and eventually shut it down — or just keep running.
So far, Armstrong has never seen Cash pick the first option.
“She doesn’t know how to stop,” the coach said. “She’s going to continue to run until she physically can’t run anymore. She just finds a second gear. Just when other people are maybe getting tired or mentally get fatigued, she finds a way to push through it.”
Armstrong said Cash has found a balance between the fitness required to play soccer and the strength and athleticism powerlifting offers. Cash said she had to tone down her lifting, though, as not to get so “bulky” that she’d be unable to maintain her stamina throughout a match.
But despite Cash’s dedication to fitness and some great practice sessions — she scores a ton in training, Armstrong said — it hasn’t yet paid off in matches, as Cash is currently scoreless. Part of that is because of an injury that cost the freshman a week of play and a starting spot; some is just bad luck, Armstrong said.
“It just hasn’t quite fallen for her at the right time,” the coach said. “She just needs a little bit of luck in front of goal, because she’s a heck of a finisher.”
With the scoring potential Cash flashed with Ohio Elite, her offensive arsenal will be promising for seasons to come, and Armstrong said he’s glad to have the freshman in the fold.
“We were thrilled to get her,” he said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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