On the continent of Europe, soccer is the undisputed king of sports. England has the sport engrained in its culture and with a World Cup victory in 1966, which was hosted by England, that culture became recognized on the global stage.

Lancashire County lies in the Northwest of the country, and within are the towns of Preston and Blackburn. They are separated by the distance of roughly 10 miles on the A-59 and A-677 roads. Juniors Olivia "Tilly" Wilkes and Brenna McPartlan were born 63 days apart in each of those towns, respectively.

Both share a storied past that includes recognition for their talent at soccer from an early age and as the pages turned, both started chapters as Jaguars at the same time. The writing of the story continues as they each work toward a degree in exercise science, while routinely making the starting 11.

McPartlan is a sharp center-defensive midfielder with an incredible ability to make concise one-touch passes accurately with precise amounts of pace in high-pressure situations, notably when defenders are approaching or already marking her. She displays a calm demeanor on the pitch in the most high-pressure and demanding situations with the ability maintain a laser-like focus.

Her right foot has become a well-known menace to opposing teams in the Sun Belt and beyond due to her ability to accurately place free kicks with power that proves to be a danger for any team with an ability to affect the game on any defensive miscue in the final third. Although she plays a defensive midfield role, quick forwards and wingers like junior Morgan Cross and senior Ana Helmert are capable of drawing fouls allowing the midfielder to move forward and wreak havoc with only a stationary wall of players and goalkeeper standing a chance of stopping her free kicks.

During South's 2019 Sun Belt Tournament run, McPartlan scored the only goal of the semifinals on a successful penalty kick.

Off the field, once becoming comfortable, she is lighthearted and outgoing but will not hesitate to give friendly banter given the opportunity. One of her friendly natured quirks is that she is generally always in a jovial mood and eager to laugh.

"I can talk at length about the quality of our midfield, [Brenna] McPartlan is clearly an enormous part of that," said head coach Richard Moodie. "As one of our team-leaders, there are intangibles that she has too; great quality on the ball, a voice to guide the team on the pitch during matches and practice, exceeding the standards the coaching staff set and she is an extremely hard worker at all times."
 
Wilkes is a quick left-footed left back with the ability to seek out and muscle into spaces with a low center of gravity, on top of a keen soccer intelligence of reading the match as she is within it. The defender is quick to react to changes in possession with split-second decision-making whether to press the offense in an attempt to reclaim the ball or retreat into a more advantageous defensive position.

The Preston, England, native has become extremely adept at picking correct intercept angles when recovering defensively to catch offensive players that may be ahead of her and forcing them to either surrender the ball, turning away from goal or halting the attack. With the ball, the left back is capable of distributing accurate crosses from anywhere on the pitch, and that has become a key component to South's offensive prowess.

The junior's most famous offensive display at South was knocking a long cross into the goal box that got headed in for the opening goal of last Fall's Sun Belt Tournament Championship game.

She is more reserved than her English counterpart. Not to be confused with shyness, Wilkes prefers a quiet confidence and will answer questions in short, concise segments. She mentioned that the reasoning is the manner she prefers to communicate with is the display of her quality of play in games and practice. Like McPartlan, she takes a little bit of time to open up off the pitch, but is always eager to celebrate her teammates accomplishments often more so than her own.

"Wilkes is not just an amazing football player, but an amazing person too," Moodie said. "She is a great teammate on and off the field. She has an outstanding attitude, is absolutely eager to improve at any time and always gives her all for us. She is a credit to this university, soccer team and we are lucky to have her here."

While the two had a clear bond as teammates that had been carried since childhood, the pair shared smiles and laughs throughout the recalling of their shared history. McPartlan would be eager to brag about one her side's success against Wilkes' side at one age group, particularly Manchester United. Wilkes would smile and prod back in a similar fashion about one of her teams having the upper hand knowing that both gestures were only meant in fun. McPartlan went a step further by proudly proclaiming her 100 percent success record when playing against United.

"We met when we used to play against each other as kids, probably around 10 to 12 years old," McPartlan said while Wilkes nodded in agreement. "We won a few national titles for Lancashire County where we played in the next age group, but were on opposite sides again in the following group."

Quirks between them continue at USA, as recently in a moment of levity both players were asked what their favorite moment of their individual soccer history. Wilkes' answer: "Playing for Manchester United." McPartlan's response: "Playing for Manchester City." For those unfamiliar, the two clubs are bitter cross-town rivals in the Northwest of England. Both possess enormous global fan bases and have enjoyed outstanding success at multiple levels.

But the bond reemerged in the following question of what they miss most about England. The answer from both, which was almost simultaneous, was their dogs. They later added that they miss the natural beauty of England's countryside.

While they had developed a friendship in England, the decision to come to South arrived without the other's knowledge.

"I only decided about a month until signing day that I was going to pick South Alabama," McPartlan said. "During a cold night in England, I just decided that I wanted to play for South Alabama; I wanted to give it a shot in the United States and felt my best option was in Mobile. It was a hectic month where I had to get my visa, as well as handle every other aspect of life from living in a different country, but I am here today and it seems like a good decision to me."

South has a history of recruiting talented student-athletes from the surrounding Lancashire area. Hannah Godfrey, Rio and Steffi Hardy are all from the general vicinity. McPartlan was friends with Godfrey prior to either making their way to South. The midfielder commented that the two had occasionally played for the same team, but McPartlan's first year in the age group would usually be Godfrey's final year within it. Godfrey was already in Mobile on the team as McPartlan arrived, so it eased the arrival and transition from England to the United States.

Five months prior to McPartlan's signing, Wilkes had signed her letter of intent for the Jags.

"In the recruiting process, I was unaware that McPartlan was also being recruited," Wilkes said. "Coach Moodie was friends with one of my coaches and he came to watch us play our rivals and the process developed from there."

The pair received preseason all-conference recognition this season as a display of respect both players have from around the league. As sophomores, both players were key components of the 2019 season's success of a regular season and tournament championship run. McPartlan was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team, Second-Team All-Sun Belt and to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team. Wilkes earned Defensive Player of the Week twice and a selection of First-Team All-Sun Belt.

For individual accolades, McPartlan was selected as the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year for the 2018 season, while Wilkes was named all-conference pre-season Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.

Picking up where they left off last year, the pair continue to play pivotal roles in the outcome of games in 2020. McPartlan pocketed her first goal of the season less than 20 minutes into the first game on a free kick from about 22 yards away from goal at Foley, Ala., on Sept. 6 against Louisiana.

The following match, Cross earned a penalty shot with three seconds remaining in regulation against rival Troy. McPartlan confidently placed the ball on the spot, trotted up and ripped the shot into the left side of the net tying the match to earn her second goal in back-to-back games.

In the season preview for defenders during player interviews, Wilkes mentioned that one of the goals was to get the opportunity for senior Deanna Green and herself to make more of an impact on the scoresheet with wanting the backs to make more of an impression offensively.

Perhaps slightly in jest, Wilkes joked about hopefully the outside backs would connect with each other to accomplish those feats. Through either fate, luck or coincidence, the defenders achieved that goal for the first time in South's comeback victory against rival Troy. A cross from Green was knocked in off the head of Wilkes for the game-winning goal.

While the team rallied around Wilkes for scoring the winning goal, the left back eagerly spoke of how ecstatic she was that the cross had come from Green while recounting the events in a postgame interview.

To view the full circle in perspective, the events that led to the goal were started with the nifty movement and footwork of McPartlan.

On the first road game of the 2020 schedule, McPartlan scored a penalty in the 85th minute, the eventual winning goal, moving her into a tie for seventh-all time at South for career game-winning goals. The following Sunday match versus Appalachian State, the pair connected for the third goal of the match when Wilkes sent in a lobbed cross that McPartlan got her head to and flicked to the far post where the ball bounced across the line and into the net.

Through seven games, McPartlan is third in the conference for points and tied for second in goals. Wilkes is tied for seventh in the conference for assists.

While the English pair have accomplished a lot during their time in Mobile, they both are aware of a rock-solid fact: they are always capable of adding to the list of accomplishments and are eager to do that every time they step on the pitch.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Upper 90 Club, the soccer specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All gifts to the Upper 90 Club go directly to support the South Alabama soccer program. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/upper90