RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The 2025 season had its ups and downs for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) but more than anything the season was about their resiliency throughout. 
 
After the Vaqueros picked up their first win over Prairie View A&M, they lost head coach Mark Foster after he was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis.
 
The Vaqueros were forced to change up their game plan as associate head coach Audra Larson took the reins of the program as the acting head coach. 
 
"The team had a lot to overcome with coach Foster having to step away due to his cancer diagnosis," Larson said. "I was really proud of the ladies. I thought they were resilient and they showed that they were playing for something larger than themselves. We had some really good results and we had some really close matches where I felt we could have pushed more to get over the line but that's soccer sometimes. I felt there was a lot of resilience with what they had to face and did a good job overall."
 
The Vaqueros picked up wins in two of their next three matches against Texas A&M-San Antonio, where they scored 10 goals, and against Texas Lutheran. To be able to regroup and refocused, the Vaqueros needed to rely on their leadership group both on and off the field. 
 
Juniors Yiselle Bernal, Linnea Eld, and Olivia Smith each played and started every match and then you had graduate students Savannah Frisby and Abbie Bailey, juniors Lisa Elowsson, and Emilia Compian, sophomore Rubi Ortiz, and freshman Sienna Church played and started in at least 16 matches themselves. 
 
"I felt that core group stepped up in a lot of different ways," Larson said. "Whether it was a leadership perspective or from playing consistently throughout the season, I was really happy with that core group. I think it's important to have a really good spine within your team and they certainly were that for us this year."
 
After the win against Texas Lutheran, the Vaqueros had to battle some through some injuries to key parts of their team and couldn't find the win column over the next five matches. 
 
It wasn't until their fourth Southland Conference (SLC) match at Houston Christian that they got a little spark. Sophomore Isabella Burtini, who had missed a couple of weeks due to injury, made her return and scored the game-winner to help UTRGV to get their first SLC win of the season. 
 
"One of the most fun games from my perspective as a coach was the game against Houston Christian," Larson said. "It was a really tough matchup for us, and I felt we were pretty even with them in that match. Just to see the team get their first conference win against them and on the road was really exciting. You felt the energy shift a little bit and we went on a bit of a run. For me that was that sigh of relief moment where we got our first one and we wanted to keep it going. I felt it was important for us at that time to get that win."
 
Burtini finished with three goals and one assist for seven points while playing in 12 matches on the season and making nine starts. All of Burtini's success came in conference play where she the league what she was capable of. 
 
"Izzy is a natural goal scorer, and she fits into our system and played really well," Larson said. "It was tough to lose her for a couple of weeks, and it was tough for us during that time to find the back of the net. Izzy just brings a different level of our attacking play and for her to come back score the game-winner in that game and scored another game-winner for us, I feel like she is just showing the league that she is here and only going to get better. Moving forward, her future is really bright as long as she can stay healthy."
 
Burtini wasn't the only goal scorer though, as the Vaqueros had 13 different goal scorers with Frisby leading the way with a team-leading six goals. 
 
Out of the 13 different scorers, the Vaqueros had eight score more than one goal, including Elowsson, Bernal, Eld, Burtini, Church, Smith, and junior Libby Pole.
 
"It was really good for the team to see everybody contributing," Larson said. "That helped lift us up in a lot of different ways. It showed that we could create a lot of different opportunities and it doesn't have to be the same person scoring goals every single match. I feel that was a boost of confidence for the young group and it showed how dynamic we are as a team."
 
On the flip side, UTRGV's defense has been a staple for the program since the arrival of Foster and Larson. This season, the Vaqueros allowed 25 goals but with injuries leaving its mark on the offense, the defense was forced to work a little extra. 
 
Compian, who made all but one start in between the pipes, helped lead the back line of the Vaqueros alongside Bailey, Bernal, Church, junior Libbie Mayfield and you can throw in Eld as well.
 
That group on the back line helped to keep UTRGV in almost every match this season.
 
"I always feel like we have been really strong defensively," Larson said. "They really worked hard for that. I feel Emilia helped hold it down for us back there alongside Abbie Bailey. That goes to show you from a leadership perspective we were really strong back there in helping the group. We were really proud of our defensive effort, and I felt like some of the results didn't show how good we were defensively. Overall, we were solid defensively and that is something that our staff emphasizes a lot."
 
With all the ups and downs throughout the season, there were plenty of things to learn. The Vaqueros will take those learning opportunities and apply them as they prepare for next season. 
 
One of the biggest things that the Vaqueros will take away from the 2025 season, will be the importance of having good leadership. 
 
"I learned a lot stepping into this role," Larson said. "It was a different perspective and socially and professionally, it was a really big challenge for me but there was a lot of good that came from it as well. I feel that I learned how important it is to have good leadership. How important it is, as a head coach, that I develop that within the team. It was a tough year but the resiliency piece for me was something that I really saw a lot from the team this season."
 
Going forward, the Vaqueros will take the 2025 season and use it as motivation for 2026. Despite the ups and downs of the season, the Vaqueros were close to making their second straight SLC tournament but are already itching to make it next season.
 
"We just missed getting in the tournament this year," Larson said. "It goes to show, last year we made it and this year we didn't and we have to use that as fuel to get better. We have to have that to light a fire with this group. We were that close this year and we let it slip through our fingers and so without a doubt we believe that will get back there next fall. We 100 percent believe in this group. We have to use that as fuel to get better."
 
There were lots of things to take away from 2025 but the Vaqueros want more in 2026. 
 
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