The final seconds ticked off the scoreboard at Lake Travis’ Cavalier Stadium in Austin last Friday night and members of the Dripping Springs girls soccer team rushed to the center of the field. The Tigers had blanked Cedar Park 2-0 in the Region IV-5A final, earning a trip to the UIL state semifinals vs. Friendswood at 7 p.m. Tuesday in College Station, and a celebration was about to commence on the field.

In the stands, Sarah (Suess) Davis hugged her mother Martha, then her sister Molly Thompson, and finally her former high school and college teammate Angie Lloyd Cummings. Davis’ daughter, Avery, is a senior soccer player at Dripping Springs.

“It’s almost indescribable as a parent,” Sarah Davis said. “I know what those moments were like for me in high school, and the idea that my daughter gets to go through the same experience, I almost don’t know how to explain it.”

Davis recognized the occasion because it was a familiar one. Thirty years ago, her late father, Peter Suess, was “the dad in the stands” who was screaming, yelling, taking pictures and high-fiving everyone as his daughters were helping make history.

On April 13, 1991, Davis and her Madison High School teammates defeated Plano 3-0 at Kuempel Stadium in Pflugerville to capture the UIL state championship, becoming the area’s first girls soccer team to win the top prize.

Coached by Audrey Ambrose, the Mavericks were simply dominant, finishing with a 22-0-2 record. They outscored their opponents 116-6 and registered 20 shutouts.

The squad featured some of the best ever to come through the area — forwards Sasha Byler and Sheri Albrecht, midfielders Kristi McHale Turner and Sandy Miller, defenders Holly Barrow Smith and Denise Deptula and goalkeeper Emily Partain.

“Everyone knew the names of the players and the commitment and legacy that they left,” said former Madison standout Becca Mays, who played from 2003-2006. “I would say it’s pressure (to follow in those players’ footsteps), but not necessarily in a bad way. It’s the coaches seeing the level of play that the team can get to and the success that the team can have, and I think it’s just them wanting to see that happen with a different set of players.”

The players now getting to learn about and extend the legacy have bloodlines to some of the standouts of the past.

Avery Davis is a midfielder, just like her mother. She wears No. 19, just like her mother. And if one asks family members, they will tell you that mother and daughter have the same running styles.

“I always knew she played soccer, but I didn’t really realize how good she was and her team was until probably (2019),” said Avery, who assisted on the clinching goal in Dripping Springs’ 2-0 win vs. Gregory-Portland in the regional semifinals. “I think that would be so awesome if our team did (win state) and we just both have that experience. That’s definitely motivation. The fact that my mom and I get to do that is special. She’s my biggest supporter, my role model, and I’m lucky to have her.”

Like the Davises, Holly and Kaitlyn Smith also shared the mother-daughter soccer experience. Holly was a former area player of the year and went on to play at the University of Incarnate Word, where she was a three-time NAIA All-American and two-time Heart of Texas Conference player of the year. She was inducted into Incarnate Word’s hall of fame in 2008.

Two years ago, Kaitlyn was a standout forward at Smithson Valley, once scoring four goals in a game vs. San Marcos in March 2019 that was crucial in the Rangers earning a playoff berth. She graduated that year, turned down an opportunity to play in college, and is now set to become a nurse.

From the beginning, Holly was adamant that playing soccer would be her daughter’s choice.

“I wanted her to find as much joy as I did,” Holly said. “She had a love for the game and she just kept going on and on. It’s definitely a different point of view for a former player to now sitting in the stands, trying not to coach, and trying to be that spectator and just beaming with pride.”

The approach paid off. Instead of feeling the pressure of being the daughter of such an accomplished player, Kaitlyn embraced the comparisons and expectations as far back as middle school.

“I was meeting a lot of coaches that my mom coached with, or just people that she went to high school with, and they were always like, ‘You play just like your mom. You run just like your mom,” Kaitlyn recalled. “I felt like at that point, I obviously had big shoes to fill. Once I got into high school, it was more of encouraging, and it was nice to have someone to talk to when I got home after games, who understands, and someone who can relate to what I was experiencing.”

The elder Smith learned that from her parents, and the teachings were reinforced by Ambrose, who built a culture that her players were a team, on and off the field. Ambrose retired after the 2011 season with a 444-135-50 record and in 2010 was in the inaugural class inducted into the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Organization Hall of Fame.

Such a bond has been displayed over the decades. When Smith battled breast cancer, her teammates rallied around her. When parents died, teammates were there to offer condolences.

A little more than a year ago, the camaraderie was on display once again. Byler, who scored a team-high 32 goals in 1991 – including the final tally in the win vs. Plano in the state final — died in a house fire. She was 46. Byler graduated as Madison’s all-time leader in goals and later played at Incarnate Word.

Dawn Bridgewater, a close friend and a teammate of Byler’s at both Madison and Incarnate Word, traveled from her home in California to San Antonio to organize a luncheon for teammates and friends to celebrate Byler.

“It was so neat to see how many of the former teammates just came together, and we were able to reminisce and catch up on our lives,” Smith said. “We talked about, ‘We can’t wait for the bad to happen (to get together).’ I think we want to be proactive and try to make those plans to see each other and reconnect.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1