Maggie Miller just couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t resist the urge, couldn’t just sit back, relax and enjoy the next few months before heading down a life-changing course. Miller already has a distinguished soccer career, helping lead Reagan to the UIL Class 6A state tournament in 2014 and earning all-conference honors at Our Lady of the Lake. She also is poised for a promising career in the medical field.

But there Miller was on recent hot and humid Saturdays, lunging for headers and chasing after opposing players. 

“I couldn’t hang up the boots yet,” said Miller, who this fall is planning to begin post-graduate work toward becoming a physician assistant. “It’s a passion, and when I step on the field, everything else goes away.”

Miller is a defender for Athenians SC, San Antonio’s franchise in the United Women’s Soccer (UWS). The club is scheduled to open its season at home vs. FC Austin Elite at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Soccer Central (6610 Low Bid Lane).

It is the first matchup between the teams, who are developing quite the rivalry, since they played their 2019 regular-season finale before 1,205 spectators at Bold FC Stadium, home of Austin’s United Soccer League Championship franchise. FC Austin Elite prevailed 3-1, earning a postseason berth.

The stakes won’t be as high this time around, but the intensity and talent should be off the charts.

FC Austin Elite has a roster that includes at least 10 players with Division I experience, including forward Satara Murray, who played at national powerhouse North Carolina before having stints at Liverpool FC and Houston Dash of the NWSL.

Athenians SC has almost 20 players who either played or have signed to play at the D-I level, including seven with youth national team backgrounds. Four players hail from Canada and another is from New Zealand. 

Miller, Nikki Popa, Jessica Bell and Allison Fahey played on the inaugural Athenians squad in 2017.

“This is the most talent I have ever seen on a single field in San Antonio — seriously,” Miller said. “If we put the right pieces together, it’s going to be beautiful. I think that what they’re building, and their vision, is a lot bigger, it’s more intense, it’s very serious, and I think there’s a very big future for San Antonio women’s soccer.”

On Jan. 22, Juventus Academy-San Antonio acquired the franchise rights to Athenians SC. the team was founded in 2016 by Pete Veras and became the city’s first semi-pro women’s soccer club when it competed in the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) in 2017.

Through community service and on-field play, the team gained a strong following. The Athenians finished in third place in UWS Southwest Division two years ago, just missing out on a postseason berth and sparking a conversation about a potential run at landing a NWSL team.

Three members of the inaugural Athenians are playing professionally in Mexico — sisters Marlyn and Ana Campa with UNAM Pumas, and Leslie Rios with Mazatlan Femenil.

 The prospects of playing at a high level and earning an opportunity to play in college lured Eden Bretzer from Canada to the Alamo City, away from home for the first time and tasked with doing her own laundry and cooking her own meals.

“It’s not pressure to be in here, but it’s nice to have a certain level of competition to get up to,” said Bretzer, who made two appearances with Canada’s under-17 national team. “Living with the other girls and stuff has made me way more comfortable down here and it’s getting me ready for university (life) where I have to dorm with everyone. It’s definitely a way to quickly mature, having to manage your own house, cleaning the kitchen, compared to normally just cleaning your room.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1

Athenians SC roster
No. Player Pos School
0 Mia Wildeman GK Nebraska (Madison)
1 Blair Currie GK Seton Hall
2 Allison Fahey F Boerne Champion
3 Nicole Popa MF Incarnate Word (Reagan)
4 Melissa Finley MF UTSA
5 Jamie Erickson D MacEwan University (Canada)
6 Paityn Bretzer F Southeastern Louisiana (Canada)
7 Jade Piper MF Incarnate Word
8 Emma Durain MF Dallas Baptist
9 Brooke Hanson F Incarnate Word (New Braunfels)
10 Helene Farris MF UTSA (Smithson Valley)
11 Olga Villasana MF LEE
12 Olivia Wright F Texas State (Cornerstone)
13 Jazmin Baltazar MF Richland College (Harlandale)
14 Jessica Bell MF Wayland Baptist (Steele)
15 Teresa Gentry D Bradley University
16 Maggie Miller D Our Lady of the Lake (Reagan)
17 Hazel Avila F Judson
18 Eden Bretzer F Canada
19 Channing Borden F UTSA
20 Megan Katona D Rutgers (Alamo Heights)
21 Amanda Smith F St. Francis Xavier (Canada)
22 Sarah Bayhi MF UTSA
23 Megan Wilcox MF UTSA
24 Jillian Martinez MF UCLA (Madison)
26 Katie Goodman D Mississippi State (Marshall)
27 Ashley Newland D Louisiana-Lafayette
28 Kaelyn Carnahan MF Our Lady of the Lake (Johnson)
30 Isabella Beletic D Incarnate Word
33 Ashley Cathro D Illinois (Canada)
34 Irania Acosta MF Our Lady of the Lake

Head coach: Fabio Melo de Alcantara
Assistant coach: Marc Verriera Costa

2021 schedule
May
15 vs. FC Austin Elite 7:30 p.m.
22 vs. Central Texas 7:30 p.m.
29 at Lone Star Republic 8 p.m.
June
5 at Williamson County FC 7:30 p.m
11 vs. Side FC 92 7:30 p.m.
16 vs. Williamson County FC 7:30 p.m.
19 vs. Bat Country FC 7:30 p.m.
26 at Central Texas 5 p.m.
July
2 at Bat Country FC 7:30 p.m.
10 at FC Austin Elite TBD

Home matches played at Soccer Central, 6610 Low Bid Lane, San Antonio, Texas 78250