YOUNG GUNS: ABBY SMITH

SOMETIMES THE stars align just right. People from different ends of the earth, at different stages of life, and with different motivations find themselves suddenly united in a quest for one common dream.

The Texas women’s soccer team pushed through last year’s upheaval and rebuilt the program from the ground up, with one goal in mind: …

 

[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

seeing the number one lit up by the windows of the UT Tower in their honor. And as the calendar transitioned from 2011 to 2012 and “Doomsday” became the buzz word across the West, the New Year on the 40 Acres called for a rebirth of the Longhorn soccer team.

A new coaching staff, shortly followed by nine freshmen, arrived on campus. The group united with just three seniors — holdouts of a previous era of Longhorn soccer — who faced the task of teaching everyone what playing for Texas really means. Incoming freshman goalkeeper  Abby Smith faced a different hurdle other than understanding the importance of wearing a Longhorn jersey. The majority of soccer professionals spend their entire career waiting for an invitation to represent their country on the international stage.

The invite that Smith received would ultimately lead her to the 2012 FIFA Under-20 World Cup Championship in Japan — all before she ever stepped onto the field for a collegiate game. The chance to play on the international stage was a goal she strived for since childhood, even if joining the U-20 team meant  delaying the start of her college career.

Growing up in Plano, Smith played on the Dallas Texans 94 Red club soccer team — the same program also produced Texas teammates Lindsey Meyer and Kelsey Shimmick. In 2008, the team won the Nike Cup in Portland, Ore., after Smith excelled in the final three games that ended in shootouts. A shootout is the ultimate test of mettle for a goalkeeper. Three shootouts in a row within a single tournament is a crucible of pressure that only those who guard the goal can understand.  The Nike Cup win earned 15-year-old Smith a trip to the Gothia Cup in Sweden and another championship title. The trip across the ocean served as a natural segue into travels of even greater import.

A year later, Smith found herself in the soccer hotbed of Argentina playing for the U.S. U-17 team. As one can imagine, with a résumé of this nature, Smith was a highly coveted college recruit. Early on in the recruiting process, Smith spoke with coach Angela Kelly, who was at the tail end of a successful tenure at Tennessee. The conversation was a turning point for Smith. “That interview set the  standard for the rest of the interviews,” Beth recounted. But her daughter made the decision not to join the Vols.

Despite the long list of schools calling the house day and night, Smith made her choice after her second recruiting visit. “I like the environment and everything that Texas does for its athletes. Being in Austin, I felt like I was home,” Smith explained. “I loved it here and didn’t want to go anywhere else.” Smith made a verbal commitment with then-coach Chris Petrucelli. Then the Longhorn soccer program underwent some changes. When Smith received a call from UT regarding Petrucelli’s job transition, she started to question her decision. Until she learned that Kelly accepted the head coaching position.

For Smith, the stars aligned that day. As her mother Beth Smith states, “It was like the hand of God.” But even with all of the necessary pieces in hand, putting them together remained a challenge. The new staff needed to teach their athletes a new system, while helping to transition nine freshmen into Big 12 play.

And while the senior triumvirate of Kristin Cummins, Hannah Higgins and Kara Hoffman is an exceptional one, the three faced a monumental task of becoming the heart of a Texas team radically transforming itself with no time to spare. Then Smith received the call to play for the U-20 team right at the start of the season. She made the final cut, earning a spot on the U.S. team. The accomplishment meant that Smith, after spending only a week and a half with her new college team, needed to pack for a month in Japan.

No matter how tremendous the honor, for an 18 year old trying to start out in a brand new program, leaving for a month was a loaded proposition. “I wanted to be there and to go to the tournament, but I knew that when I came back, I would have to work hard to get into a flow of the team,” Smith said. “We knew it’d be hard,” Beth recalled. “We knew she was getting the best possible training and we knew the coaching staff would accept her, but we worried about how she’d fit in with the team.”

Fortunately, Kelly didn’t even question Smith’s decision. Kelly represented Canada in the 1995 World Cup and saw the value in the opportunity. “Playing for your country is special. I would never shy away from a player who does that. I’m proud of her for it,” Kelly said. The World Cup Final championship game — which the U.S. won — took place on Sept. 8.

Four days later, Smith started for Texas, standing in Texas’ goal for the very first time. She shut out Fresno State and the Longhorns won, 3-0. The lack of downtime between the  World Cup and the game against Fresno State clearly didn’t affect Smith. “There’s never a day off — never a session off,” Kelly said. In her next two starts Smith recored shutouts versus Iowa State and Oklahoma. Her performances earned her recognition as the conference’s Newcomer of the Week. And she only continued to solidify her reputation as one of the stronger goalkeepers in the Big 12 with a shutout against Oklahoma State on Oct. 5.

While her talent and experience serve her well, Smith relies on the Longhorns’ fight to navigate through a perilous conference. “Every game is a lot of pressure,” Smith admitted. “No matter who the game is against, you want to win every time.” Despite the early streak of wins, Texas faced some tough losses — all of them by a one-goal differential. As the person charged with keeping the ball out of the goal, Smith felt the pressure to play at the senior level. Playing goalie comes with the expectation that she will guide the team from the backline.

Pulling from her past experience, Smith continues to live up to that expectation. “She gives us a lot of confidence when we play — we can trust who’s guarding our goal,” Hoffman said. “She’s always talking and settling the team down when we need it.”  When Smith steps onto the field, she isn’t the freshman goalkeeper. The Longhorns throw the class system out the window and she fulfills her duty as the goalie like an upperclassman. The Longhorns finished conference play with a 4-4 record, but this symmetry fails to reveal the story behind the season. The soccer team recorded the most conference wins since 2010.

The record hides the details of the grueling afternoon practices, a month of separation, the emotions that come with upheaval, the excitement that comes with rebirth, and the countless hours of Vampire Diaries that helped turn strangers into a family Smith’s left ankle bares a small tattoo that’s only visible when she’s sockless,. It simply reads, “Faith.”

While the ink has spiritual connections, the tattoo also speaks to the bond that formed at Mike Myers stadium as all the pieces necessary to chase a national title came together for the Longhorns. For Smith, the expectations for leading this team will only grow, and she can handle that.

Her responsibilities are simply a matter of keeping the ball, and the team, ahead of her and moving forward. “Having a freshman in goal with her experience creates trust in our backline,” Higgins said. “You can’t look at her and think of her as just a freshman.”

 

[/s2If]
[s2If current_user_is_not(s2member_level2) OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level3) OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level5) OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level6)]

The rest of this article is available to Digital Subscribers only. Login or Subscribe to continue reading.
[/s2If]