Some good news from Haiti: Women鈥檚 soccer star Melchie Dumornay just received a big international honor 鈥� one that's resonating in Little Haiti, too.
Dumornay, you'll recall, scored the winning goals against Chile last year that put Haiti鈥檚 women鈥檚 soccer team into the World Cup for the first time ever.
After the Cup 鈥� where soccer writers from around the globe even though Haiti was eliminated in the group stage 鈥� the then 19-year-old midfielder went to play in France for Olympique Lyonnais (aka Lyon), one of the world鈥檚 top women鈥檚 professional teams.
She helped lead Lyon to the final of Europe鈥檚 Champions League tournament last week. They lost to Barcelona 鈥� but the women's Champions League Young Player of the Season.
Which is huge.
READ MORE: Haiti 鈥� and Little Haiti 鈥� are finding reminders for hope in the World Cup
Afterward, Dumornay told a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) interviewer: 鈥淏ecoming a soccer player as a girl in Haiti was a pretty tough challenge. But we fought for what we wanted and got acceptance.鈥�
That's all the more reason Dumornay鈥檚 success is a sorely needed flash of brightness for Haiti 鈥� an all but collapsed country that鈥檚 still in the chokehold of violent gangs. Her Haitian national teammate, goalie Nahomie Ambroise, says that鈥檚 especially true for Haiti鈥檚 women.
鈥淢elchie, she鈥檚 like the example, you know, to the world, to see all the potential the Haitian women can have," Ambroise told WLRN.
"And she鈥檚 a hard worker, and she鈥檚 so smart 鈥� and she鈥檚 a winner.鈥�
A winner not only in Haiti, Ambroise points out, but to women and girls in Miami鈥檚 Little Haiti.
Ambroise, who is 20, now lives there and is active with the renowned youth soccer club, with whom she trained last year before joining the Haitian women's team in Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 World Cup.
She says the community鈥檚 youth, male and female, now look up to Dumornay and the rest of the Haitian national women鈥檚 team as a source of inspiration and affirmation.
鈥淢elchie really, really motivates Little Haiti," Ambroise said, "because she shows when you have talent and you work hard, with discipline, you can achieve the same thing as her.鈥�
Ambroise last year won a soccer scholarship to Florida National University in Hialeah.
The Little Haiti F.C. U-19 boys team won its division last weekend in the Enigma Cup tournament in Weston, a premier international youth soccer tournament.
