ROUND ROCK — The players came together several months ago on a still-developing parcel of land on San Antonio’s northwest side. Some were from different countries and states, and many had varying playing backgrounds.

None of them, though, really knew what to expect back then, other than they all loved the same game and was willing to sacrifice to play it. When the journey ended late Friday night, only 90 minutes before midnight, there was a mixture of achievement and sadness.

Athenians SC, the Alamo City’s semi-pro women’s soccer team, lost to SC Blue Heat 4-0 in the semifinals of the United Women’s Soccer national championships at the Round Rock Sports Complex.

The California team scored three times in the first half, including twice in the contest’s opening 15 minutes, and never looked back en route to advancing to the final for the third time in five seasons. Blue Heat (5-0-2), which won the crown in 2016 and was runner-up in 2017, will play Connecticut Fusion (8-2-3) for the top prize at 11 a.m. Sunday.

“We’ve grown a lot of friendships and just a lot of great bonds with people that you’re going to always talk to,” Athenians forward Amanda Smith said after her team made its first appearance at nationals. “If I ever come back to Texas, or if I see them if they ever come to Canada, you can pick (the friendships) up whenever you see it next. It’s kind of a bitter end to the season, sending it out on this note, but there’s always bigger things coming.”

And that made what transpired on Friday so tough for the Athenians (11-2), who had a club-record nine-match winning streak snapped to conclude a historic season. In the end, however, they simply faced an opponent that was too quick, skilled, precise and relentless.

Gisele Thompson, who will be a high school sophomore in the fall, tallied the game-winner only 6 1/2 minutes into the contest off a pass from Savannah Demelo. Lena Silano made it 2-0 in the 15th minute when she slotted in a pass from Olufolasade Adamolekun. Silano concluded the first-half scoring in the 39th minute when she assisted a goal by Alyssa Thompson, this year’s Gatorade high school national player of the year as a sophomore. Angie Escobar rounded out the scoring in the 84th minute. Escobar, Demelo and Adamolekun all play at the University of Southern California, while the Thompson sisters have committed to national power Stanford.

“They’re honestly a really good team,” Athenians midfielder Isabella Beletic said. “We didn’t expect for them to just keep playing tick-tack, tick-tack, tick-tack, just so calm on the ball. It was just so hard to defend and so hard to attack this team. We did our best.”

The Athenians’ best hope on the evening came shortly after falling behind 1-0. In the 12th minute, SC Blue Heat defender Lily Perryman, who plays at USC, cleared a shot by Smith following a free kick from teammate Jamie Erickson off the goal line. A minute later, Blue Heat goalkeeper Hillary Beall, who plays at Michigan, deflected away Smith’s free kick from just outside the penalty area that appeared as if it would have been a certain goal.

About 2 1/2 minutes after the second close call, Blue Heat scored for a 2-0 advantage.

“It’s not the greatest thing to go down 1-0, but in our history, whenever we’ve gone down 1-0, we hit it back and run it at them,” Smith said. “If those (scoring) opportunities did go in, I think it would’ve been a different game. We just didn’t capitalize on those, and obviously the score started running up.”

The Athenians couldn’t turn the tide. When the final whistle sounded and the players went through the post-game exercise of handshakes, a coach’s speech and acknowledgement of fans, Smith made the rounds. She embraced teammates, a few who later implored that they return to their hotel and hang out together because “we might not see each other again.”

“I made so many memories here,” Beletic said. “The team, they’re all beautiful souls. We all connected right away. We all played different, but like same at the same time.”

Defender Ashley Newland liked that aspect of the team. A few months ago, her life was at a crossroads. She had completed her eligibility at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and was pondering what was next, but “couldn’t let go of the sport” and ended up playing this spring for local teams in Louisiana during the spring.
At the urging of her college coach, Taft High School graduate and former Trinity women’s head coach Lance Key, Newland made her way to the Athenians.

“I just was grateful for every moment to be out here,” she said. “I didn’t have too many expectations, besides just coming out and playing and enjoying the thing I’m passionate about. I think a lot other girls had the same expectations. We just started playing together, and started becoming more of a team.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1