Mili Hernandez is an 8-year-old standout soccer player from Omaha who is so good she plays on a team with 11-year-old girls.

Her team, the Azzuri Cachorros, advanced to the finals of a tournament in Springfield, Neb., but Mili and her teammates were abruptly sent home on Saturday after their coach got a surprising phone call: They had been disqualified because someone complained that Mili was a boy.

The story of what happened to Mili and her team attracted news coverage and criticism, but also drew words of support from high-profile female athletes.

Mili, who wears her hair short, has been playing soccer for three years and never had an issue like this before, her father, Gerardo Hernandez, said on Tuesday.