An 8-year-old Nebraska girl and her teammates found themselves axed from the semifinals of a local soccer tournament this weekend because officials said shed been registered as a boy.

Milagros Mili Hernandez and her all-girls team, the Azzuri Cachorros, won two of their three Saturday games at the Springfield Soccer Club tournament in Omaha, which should have landed them a spot in one of Sundays final games, WOWT 6 News reported . Just hours before the match, however, the teams coach said a tournament organizer informed him that the Azzuri Cachorros were disqualified because Mili was listed as a boy on one of two registration forms.

Azzurri Soccer Club President Mo Farivari felt the mistake could be quickly rectified because a separate form listed Mili who wears her hair in a short, pixie style as a girl, The Washington Post reported . So coach Mario Torres immediately called Milis father, George Hernandez, and told him to bring his daughter to the soccer field with identification, according to CBS affiliate KMTV . Though Hernandez arrived at the tournament with his daughters insurance card, he said officials insisted Mili was a boy and didnt even want to take it.

They told us the thing was decided, Hernandez told The Washington Post. Shes been playing so long in different tournaments. That wasnt the right way to treat people.

Added Mili , They only did it because I look like a boy. When my hair starts to grow, I put it short because Ive always had short hair. I dont like my hair long.

After the story began to make national headlines Monday, the Nebraska State Soccer Association released a statement to WOWT 6 News stating that Mili had been mistakenly listed on the roster as a boy.

The statement noted that the association would never disqualify a player from participating on a girls teams based on appearance.

It is important to note that the roster submitted to the state by the club identified this player as male, and the competition rules for U.S. Youth Soccer do not allow boys to play on a girls team, it read.

In an email statement sent to HuffPost, the Eastern Nebraska Soccer Association and the Springfield Soccer Association said Milis team agreed to abide by tournament rules and signed the acknowledgement at team check-in that if illegal players are caught, such results in forfeit of game and possible removal from the tournament.

Calling Milis listing on the roster an unfortunate incident, the associations added, It is the clubs responsibility to correct mistakes, which the club did not do with respect to these violations.

Still, Torres believes the issue should have been addressed before the semi-finals on Sunday. Even if it was a mistake, they did not need to humiliate her or kick the entire team off the field, he told KMTV .

Meanwhile, Milis been getting some high-profile support. On Monday, soccer star Abby Wambach praised the young player as her hero in a heartfelt video posted to her Instagram account .

Youre inspiring. Youre a natural born leader, honey, Wambach said in the clip, which can be viewed below. Im so proud of you.