Leading Ladies Help Red & Blue Rise
By: Victoria White



    All of the nights under the glimmering Westcott Field lights, the glorious celebrations jumping up and down and embracing teammates after overtime wins or consoling after tough defeats, from singing and dancing in the locker room to traveling for matches outside the Metroplex, the four seniors of SMU women's soccer, held onto the loyalty of the Red & Blue through it all.

    As the women's soccer season ended, seniors Catie Brown, Haley Thompson, Blair Thorpe and Vanessa Valadez, were honored for their contributions to the program alongside their families. Holding bouquets of red and white flowers, memories flashed by like cameras snapping shots, and holding time still.
 

    "I like just playing for my school, just representing my school as a whole and being able to get our name out there," Valadez said. "Then, playing with my teammates. It's one of the best feelings when I play soccer."
 

    But before this season began, Valadez mostly just wanted to be able to play.

    "My goal for the season is to actually be able to play in a game," Valadez said at the start of the year. "I'm recovering from a second ACL tear right now, so hopefully I will be able to come back and play by our first conference game. I'm working hard and trying to get back to 100 percent."
 

    The Kingwood, Texas, native, scored two goals in conference play against Tulsa and Cincinnati and played in multiple matches for the Mustangs, also notching an assist in a crucial win over then-No. 24 UCF (Oct. 18).

    Since she first stepped foot onto campus, the forward propelled the Mustangs with leadership and accumulated AAC honors, including 2017 Preseason All-AAC, 2016 AAC All-Tournament Team, 2016 First Team All-AAC and 2015 AAC All-Rookie Team recognition.

    "I can tell you that I've grown a lot from freshman year until now," Valadez said. "It's going to be my fifth year, and as a senior, I definitely have improved on the soccer field and in the classroom. I've made lots of new friends, made more relationships with teammates, and I've gotten very close to them."
 

    But the soccer accomplishment she's most proud of isn't the numerous awards she's won, it's overcoming adversity and the injuries that have impacted her collegiate career.

    "Probably coming back from my ACL tear. I tore it back when I was a freshman, and I definitely struggled with that," Valadez said. "It was my first actual injury that kept me out for about six months. So I was very proud of myself for keeping a positive mindset, and with the help of my teammates, I was definitely able to come back stronger and faster."

    It's a testament to her positivity that the senior was able to keep such an optimistic attitude and tenaciousness in a time that was very hard for her. However, Valadez said many people helped her throughout the process.

    "There's lots of different people that have helped me get through it," Valadez said. "I've talked to trainers, coaches, teammates and they were all very supportive. My parents definitely were a huge aspect, along with my sisters. They kept me positive. They kept me going. I'm usually a very positive person, and they helped me to overcome that obstacle."

    When deciding on which college to go to, defender Haley Thompson said she had many reasons to choose SMU.
 

    "They had a great business school and a beautiful campus," Thompson said. "And I really love the coaches. I was just excited to get in the environment."

    Not only that, the Lone Tree, Colorado, native, said that playing soccer with her best friends was a highlight of her time on the Hilltop.

    "We honestly have a great team chemistry," Thompson said. "We have a lot of fun. We get together on and off the field, and we are best friends that come out here and play together."
 

    At the start of the season, the 2017 CoSIDA All-District First-Team and 2017 CoSIDA All-America nominee reflected on her collegiate career.

    "I've definitely grown a lot over the past four years," Thompson said. "I've learned a lot of leadership skills and learned really how to hold myself and others accountable."

    Her style of leadership is to lead by example while supporting the growth of the squad.

    "I kind of just like to foster leadership within the team and let everyone grow and find their role and play their role," Thompson said. "It's cool to see how everyone really comes together."
 

    One memory that stands out to Thompson, whose hobbies include skiing, hiking and anything outdoors, is an instrumental play in the conference tournament her sophomore year, that propelled SMU to the program's first conference tournament championship match since 2004 when the Mustangs won the WAC.

    "In the conference tournament, kicking a corner to Claire Oates and having her head it in, the celebration after was just fantastic," Thompson said of the 2016 competition.

    What forward/midfielder Thorpe was most excited for her senior season, was giving it her all at the finish line of the journey.
 

    "I think just having fun with everyone," Thorpe said of what she was most looking forward to about her senior year. "Being here since [I was] a freshman, I've really seen the team develop. [I'm most looking forward to] just finishing out the last year strong with all my friends and teammates."

    Hailing from Frisco, Texas, Thorpe's favorite in-game moment throughout her time on The Hilltop was a milestone for the program, as well.
 

    "Making it to the NCAA for the first time in 10 years my sophomore year was really exciting and just something that hadn't happened in a while for the team," Thorpe said. "It brought a lot of energy."

    Thorpe, who notched three goals and five assists her senior season (career: 10 goals, 15 assists), has played soccer since she was just four years old.
She said that the camaraderie within the competition is what has kept her with the sport so long.

    "I think it's just my opportunity to go out and have fun and be with your best friends in an on and off kind of environment," Thorpe said. "It just brings people together, so I love it."
 

    Thorpe and the team hoped to replicate her sophomore year's surge in the tournament. But, ultimately she strived to enjoy playing the game she loved her senior season.

    "My goals are obviously to win the AAC conference and the tournament and make the NCAA again. I think that would be awesome," Thorpe said. "But most importantly, just having fun along the way and really cherishing the last year."

    Although the team came just short of the AAC conference crown, numerous awards were netted by Mustangs women soccer this season.
Head coach Chris Petrucelli also earned his 400^th win, when the Mustangs defeated UCONN, 4-1 (9/23).
 

    After a stellar junior campaign, scoring 10 goals, Allie Thornton earned 1^st Team All-AAC recognition for the second year in a row. Katina Tsapos who emerged from injury in 2017, tallied the second most minutes on the team while contributing a goal and three assists to the Mustangs midfield.

    Tsapos and Courtney Sebazco were second team All-American Athletic Conference honorees, with Sebazco also earning on AAC Rookie of the Year unanimously.

    Celiana Torres was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie team, too, after earning AAC Rookie of the Week (10/29) and scoring seven goals and a team-high six assists on the season.

    Sebazco, who scored six goals and four assists, was also Rookie of the Week in the American for back-to-back weeks (8/27, 9/10) while Thornton clinched a spot on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll (10/22), as well.

    Additionally, Brown grasped goalkeeper honors including a spot on The American's Weekly Honor Roll the following week (9/17) and a spot on the All-AAC Tournament team in 2016.
 

    "I think the hardest things about being the goalkeeper is you kind of have to be perfect all the time. You make one mistake and it could be game changing. But, that's also the best part because when you do make a save it's usually a game changing save," Brown said. "That adrenaline that you get from that is such a good feeling, and then you're teammates are behind you on it, too. Just that feeling that you get from making a save is probably my favorite part about being a goalkeeper."

    SMU's historic pursuit of AAC glory in 2016, also brought the Sacramento, California, product a lifelong memory.
 

    "My sophomore year when we were in the American Athletic Conference, it was the first round and we went to penalty kicks," Brown said. "I saved the last penalty kick to send us onto the next round, and the best feeling about that was just running into my team. We were in this huge dogpile, and just that overwhelming feeling of joy, me and with my team. And being able to contribute and push us onto that next level was my favorite save so far. That was pretty cool."
 

    Her 4/1 shutouts this season (Northern Colorado, Temple, Cincinnati, UCF, and a combined effort with Samantha Estrada to shutout Houston) demonstrate dedication to her defending capabilities.
 
    "We're always building, and we always want the next year to be better than the last," Brown said. "Through my experience, we've definitely built on that every year, so I think this is just another step on the journey and I hope that our senior year is our most successful. That's my biggest hope is just overall team success and keeping that chemistry throughout the season."

    Hoping to always build on the program's success and learn from every fall, the seniors came together to create a lasting legacy for future teams to grow and thrive as new generations prepare for battle in the quiet breaking days and rowdy starry nights at Westcott Field.