Trophies, board games and apple cider: Inside the life of the NWSL's youngest player

Gotham FC's Mak Whitham signed a deal to play in the professional women's soccer league last year, just a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday.

When Gotham FC won the first CONCACAF W Champions Cup in Mexico in May, celebrations included cheers, foaming sprays of beer — and at least one bottle of apple cider.

Mckenna “Mak” Whitham, 14, is the youngest player in National Women’s Soccer League history. As she is still seven years away from legally being able to drink, her teammates — all but one in their 20s and 30s — showed support with that bottle ready for her to pop in the locker room. It’s just one of the ways Whitham says she’s been welcomed into the league.

During that week in Mexico, she bonded with some of her teammates through playing board games and craft projects in their free time.

“I feel like the experience has been really good,” Mak told NBC News. “I don’t just fit in on the field, but I also fit in off the field.”