The undefeated runs through district play were nice. So, too, were the annual appearances in the postseason. But the stellar won-loss records and some hardware aside, there was, on some levels, a lack of fulfillment.

In August, Smithson Valley girls soccer coach Jason Adkins gathered his players together. The moment is a yearly rite of the preseason, one where a team’s canvas is bare and awaiting a vision to be illustrated.

It was on this occasion, as has been the deal for years, that Adkins asked his team to list its goals for the upcoming season. The players replied by expressing a standard fare of ambition — win a district championship, advance deeper in the playoffs than the year before, etc.

With each verbalized aspiration, though, Adkins encouraged his players to raise their outlook.
“I might kind of push them, like, ‘Not just get to the second round,’ ” Adkins said. “Let’s get to the third round. Or, let’s win the third round. Let’s set those goals a little bit higher. My goal, and putting in their mind, is we play because we want to go to state, we want to win state. That should be your ultimate goal.”

Quickly, it became the Rangers’ expectation for this season. Five days ago, it became reality. With a dramatic 1-0 win vs. McAllen in the Region IV-5A final in Brownsville on April 8, Smithson Valley earned its first trip to the UIL state tournament.

The Rangers take on 2022 state finalist Grapevine (24-3-2) at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in the Class 5A state semifinals at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown. The Mustangs, who are 23-0-2 since starting the season 1-3, is paced by forward Theresa McCullough, a Baylor signee who has tallied 30 goals and 20 assists this season and 62 goals and 76 assists for her career.

“We knew we had the ability to go far, so we didn’t want to waste that,” said Smithson Valley senior defender Kaili Castillo, who has been on varsity since she was a freshman. “I think that it’s good that we have those talks in the beginning. “The end goal is always state. We just felt like this year was different. You could see it in the players. It wasn’t just from coach.”

What allowed Smithson Valley to up the ante of its aspirations was a veteran roster led by 13 seniors, most of whom have been on varsity for at least three seasons. The group has experienced plenty of successes, going a combined 67-3-3 since 2021.

The group has also endured heartbreak, losing to eventual Region IV-6A winner Austin Westlake 1-0 in the second round a year ago and to Johnson 2-1 in penalty kicks in bidistrict in 2021. The 2020 season was halted before the playoffs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adkins felt the 2022 club “legitimately” had a chance to go to state.

“I think it pushed us as a team to work harder to overcome that adversity,” Rangers senior midfielder Jasmin Dominguez said. “I think we always try to remind one another that just because we are doing so good, we can’t just go through the motions. We still have to push ourselves to do our very best and work hard every game to keep our momentum going.”

The Rangers (27-0) haven’t had issues in that regard this season. They are off to the best start in area history (by a boys or girls team), and their 27-match winning streak is an area record for a single season, surpassing the previous mark of 26 by the 1998 Churchill girls squad. That season, Churchill lost its opener to East Central but reeled off 26 straight wins to reach the UIL state final vs. Arlington Martin, losing in overtime.

“I think it showed us as a team that, ‘Hey, we’re capable of a lot if we really work together and not back down from the challenges that we face,’ ” said senior forward Malia Thalman, the team’s leading scorer with 22 goals.

Perhaps the Rangers’ biggest obstacle was their own postseason history. Smithson Valley has been dominant during the regular season, but the success has transferred to the playoffs.
In the 19 completed seasons before this year, Smithson Valley has lost in the regional quarterfinals six times. Three of the losses came against teams — MacArthur (2005), Cedar Park Vista Ridge (2011) and Reagan (2015) — that made it to the state tournament. The other three setbacks came vs. squads — Clark (2004), Pflugerville Hendrickson (2012) and O’Connor (2016) — that advanced to the regional final.

“For years there, we were in the North East district with Reagan and Johnson and those teams, and Mac, that are going to state every year,” Adkins said. “People don’t realize how hard it is.”

Being moved from 6A to 5A during the University Interscholastic League’s 2022 biennial realignment and reclassification, didn’t provide any solace for Smithson Valley, which was placed in a district with 2022 state semifinalist Boerne Champion, perennial playoff qualifier New Braunfels Canyon and Pieper, which in its first varsity season was in contention for the district title with two weeks left in the regular season.

Champion and New Braunfels Canyon both made it to the regional quarterfinals and Pieper lost to regional tournament qualifier Leander 1-0 in bidistrict.

“To be honest, everybody kind of makes a big deal about moving down from 6A to 5A,” Adkins said. “Just because you move down a division, doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. You have to actually step your game even more, because more is expected of us now than it was in 6A.”

Smithson Valley went 14-0 in league play, but the strong competition prepared it for its historic postseason run. Players point to the district finale vs. Pieper as a turning point. The Rangers trailed 3-1 at one point in the first half, but responded with four unanswered goals for a 5-3 triumph.

The momentum continued into the postseason as Smithson Valley topped Liberty Hill (2-1) in bidistrict, Jefferson (9-0) in the second round and Boerne Champion (8-2) in the regional quarterfinals. In the regional semifinals vs. McAllen Memorial, Sabrina Taber had two goals and Thalman, Morgan Heintz, Aura Reyes Lopez and Dominguez had one apiece en route to a 6-0 decision.

For the first time since 2000, the Rangers were in a regional final. Twenty-three years earlier, Coach Erin Braun’s squad fell to Belton 3-1 at the San Antonio ISD Sports Complex. This time, Smithson Valley would not be denied.

The Rangers overcame numerous missed scoring opportunities, including a penalty kick early in the second half, and a solid performance by the opposing goalkeeper to clip McAllen 1-0.

“For me, I was very disappointed that I missed that PK,” senior midfielder Arianna Monnin said. “The game was definitely a challenge for us. I think it was a good change in pace because now we realize we’re not going to blow out every team. We’re going to have competition and we’re going to have to work.”

Junior defender Wrilyn Shippey netted the historic game-winner, putting in a 40-yard free kick with 2 1/2 minutes left.

“It’s like the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Shippey said. “Everyone on the team was so excited.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1