'Let them lead': Texas Tech soccer seniors leave mark on coach Tom Stone, program

Hannah Anderson wasn't ready to admit defeat.

Putting five years of her life into the Texas Tech soccer team, and the history-making season the team had put together, Anderson didn't hear the fat lady sing until the final horn sounded at the John Walker Soccer Complex. And Tech (16-2-5) has come back in the final seconds before, like when Anderson headed in the game-winning goal at the buzzer in Arlington earlier this year.

The end finally came just before 3 p.m. on Sunday. North Carolina, the historic team each program aspires to emulate in some form or fashion, had just enough patience to edge the Red Raiders 1-0 on Bella Sember's rocket into the right corner of the net with less than 20 minutes to play.

UNC's speed won out over Tech's big, physical roster. It brought Tech's season to an end in the Round of 16 of the NCAA women's soccer tournament.

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It was also the end of Anderson's collegiate career.

"Lots of tears already shed," Anderson said. "... You never really wanna fully believe it. I think it'll take a little while for just me to reflect on the season and stuff. ..."

Anderson and goalkeeper Madison White have been in lockstep since they were freshmen, forming the nucleus that made up Texas Tech's best season to date. Their achievements are many, both individually — Anderson the Big 12 defensive player of the year; White the conference goalkeeper of the year and the program's all-time leader in shutouts — and as a team.

Highest ranking (fourth). Best NCAA Tournament seed (two). First Big 12 regular-season title.

Together they helped turn the tide for Tech's soccer program, evidenced by the 2,558 fans that took in the Sunday matinee to set a new facility attendance record.

The previous mark was set during Friday's second-round win over Princeton and stood less than 48 hours.

"That's a really hard environment if you're not Texas Tech," White said. "I think that they brought the heat and I hope that next year they continue to do the same thing with this new team."

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Stone said he never had to beg or plead fans to show up to games. Numbers increased as the Red Raiders forged ahead with their undefeated start to the year, which extended into the second round of the Big 12 tournament. That, he said, is a testament to what the team accomplished.

"One thing Red Raiders like to do is win," Stone said, "and when we started winning, they were like 'Let's go' so we don't want that to go away. We want to keep making them proud."

Players often speak of lessons they learn from their coach, whether it's about their chosen sport or life away from the game. Coaches can learn just as much from their players. That was the case for Stone with this year's group of nine seniors, six of them being graduates.

For Stone, players like Anderson and White taught him "when to just back off and let them lead."

"There's some young players that are leaders on this team," Stone said, "some of the grannies that became leaders — as they call themselves — and just letting them lead, not being in the middle of it unless they need me. Hannah was really good at knowing when they needed us.

"I think that needs to be the standard. We have to develop leaders that can handle the team. A lot of the issues that sometimes teams deal with doesn't really need the coach and then when they need the coach the coach has got to be ready to jump in the middle of it. I will definitely say I learned that from this class. And that's another reason why it was enjoyable."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech soccer seniors leave mark on Tom Stone, program