Sarah Bayhi remembers the moment vividly. She recalls what led to the occasion. More importantly, she’s proud of what has followed.

Six weeks ago, San Antonio Athenians SC traveled to Dallas for its United Women’s Soccer season opener and was quickly punched in the mouth by Luxoria FC, a newcomer to the league that features several players from 2021 Southwest Division regular-season champion Lone Star Republic.

Luxoria FC led 3-0 early in the second half. The Athenians, undone by nerves and still-developing chemistry, didn’t resemble a team that a year ago was a win shy of playing for a national championship.

Bayhi, a defender and captain, had seen enough. She huddled her teammates together and they examined the situation. The season opener might have gotten out of hand, but the promise of the season hadn’t.

“We were like, ‘No, we don’t except this,’ ” said Bayhi, who is in her second season with the team after playing at UTSA.

The local semi-pro squad rallied after the impromptu meeting, tallying two quick goals and just missing on netting a tying score before falling to Luxoria 3-2.

“I think that was a very important loss,” said defender Amanda Chimbima, a native of England who plays at NCAA Division II Limestone University (S.C.). “I’m glad it happened early on in the season, because we have not lost again.”

A crucial reason behind the Athenians’ six-match unbeaten streak has been the play of its defense. The backline of Bayhi, Eve Clarkson, Chimbima, Ashley Newland and Jordan Bushnell and goalkeeper Mia Wildeman have combined to allow only one goal in the last 573 minutes. The group has registered four straight shutouts and five overall.

Another stingy defensive effort could be paramount when the Athenians (5-1-1, 16 points) face FC Austin Elite (6-0-1, 19 points) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Round Rock Multipurpose Sports Complex in a contest with postseason implications. The Athenians need a win to move into a tie for first place in the Southwest Division. FC Austin Elite can pretty much lock up a postseason spot with a win.

“I think we knew it was going to maybe come down to this game the whole season, but we’re taking it week by week,” said Clarkson, a native of England who will be a senior this fall at the University of Incarnate Word. “This has kind of been our end goal. We’ve gotten better each game.”

When the Athenians and FC Austin Elite met earlier this season on May 28, they played to a 1-1 draw. Emma Ruiz slotted in a pass from Brooke Martinez in the 53rd minute to put the Athenians up 1-0. The score looked as if it would stand until Austin’s Katy Couperus headed in Natalia Blanco’s corner kick with 4 1/2 minutes left.

“That is part of being a defender, I guess,” Clarkson said. “You can have a great game, and in a space of five seconds, it’s all forgotten. Conceding (goals) as a defender, that’s obviously the hardest thing. I think the goals that were conceded, we would never make those mistakes now. I think it brought us together. We decided as a backline this isn’t happening again. It hasn’t.”

The growth on defense has turned what appear would be an area of concern into a strong point. The Athenians lost starters Jamie Erickson, Ashley Cathro and Maggie Miller from last year’s defense. Erickson and Cathro are now playing professionally. Newland was the lone returning starter, but was hampered early on with a hamstring issue. Bushnell, who just graduated from Clemens and will attend Houston Baptist, helped fill Newland’s void.

“I definitely had a few doubts at the beginning of the season,” Bushnell said. “We were all learning a new playing style, and it was hard for me to adapt to that. Being the youngest one to play defense, it definitely pushes me to want to play at their level. It’s a big learning experience for me. It almost gives me a reality check that I can get better. It definitely pushes me a lot more to have a strong mindset and take the constructive criticism when it’s given.”

After some shaky moments in the first few weeks, there have been few complaints about the defense’s performance. The unit already has as many shutouts this season than in 2021, despite playing five fewer games.

“We all have different strengths that complement each other very well,” Newland said. “It was very easy for us to play together. There wasn’t too much confusion or miscommunication, it was just a natural, ‘Oh, she knew what I was going to do and I knew what she was going to do.’ We flow very well together.”

The Athenians hope the harmony is there during Friday’s crucial showdown vs. FC Austin Elite.

“For us, it’s going to be very important for us to buckle down,” said Wildeman, who will be a redshirt freshman in the fall at Nebraska after playing at Madison.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1