Big dreams: Hill Country FC dominates tournament scene
Hill Country FC team members Nicole Suarez (left), Millie Rust, Lauren Orefice, Camila Tahual, Harbor Fields, Jade Turner, Audrey Mersiosky, Bailey Dressler, Zoe Wall, Carmen Garcia, Sophiana Picket, and Jasmine Turner. Staff photos by Caden Senn
A U11 girls soccer team from the Highland Lakes is dominating the South Texas tournament scene, winning championships and sending several players to compete at the highest national stage as all-Americans. The Hill Country FC, a team based in Marble Falls and Granite Shoals, has earned national recognition in the Soccer Youth All-American Series, which features top young athletes from across the country.
“Our team has helped put the Marble Falls and Granite Shoals area on the map within the Texas youth soccer community,” head Coach James Turner said. “Coaches, directors, and clubs across the state are now familiar with the competitive talent emerging from this region.”
Among the stars nominated were Aleigh Gatton, Camila Tahual, and Audrey Mersiosky, whose performances helped bring attention to the small-town team that often competes against older opponents.
These three skilled players are backed by stellar team talent. Gatton and Tahual’s teams reached the championship match, winning first and second place, respectively. Gatton’s dominant performance earned her the Golden Cup Award, given to the top overall player in the competition. Tahual put up a strong defensive front and assisted in multiple goals despite her team’s loss in the final.
Goalkeeper Mersiosky fought off the highest number of shot attempts during the tournament and led her team to the semifinals before they were eventually knocked out.
“It felt good (to play). I liked it,” she said. “Now, more people recognize me, and it makes me feel like I’m a good player, and so is my team.”
Hill Country FC’s Jasmine “Jazzy” Turner was also nominated for the series but was unable to compete after being sidelined by a four-month-long injury.
“When a small club comes from a town that no one recognizes and wins and plays at the level we do, it really creates a problem,” Coach Turner said. “Our players are disrupting a billion-dollar business model and achieving at the highest national level.”
Today’s team has grown rapidly from its small-town beginnings.
Turner founded Hill Country FC to give young athletes a more personal training experience, believing that many youth soccer organizations had grown too large to effectively develop players as individuals.
“All the major clubs have several teams for one age division, and the quality of training drops significantly,” he said. “How do you train 300 players to compete at this level?”
With the support of the city of Granite Shoals, and a generous donation from community member and former chief technology officer of Indeed, Andrew Hudson, a turf field was built at Quarry Park in Granite Shoals so a loosely knit team of young athletes could begin practice.
They faced a hefty challenge with a limited roster of players several years younger than the opposing players in their original U12 age division.
Despite the adversity, Hill Country FC didn’t back down and was soon catapulted by grit and hard work to the top of the soccer food chain.
“Not long after forming, our team achieved a major milestone by winning first place at the Lone Star Labor Day Cup, one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in Texas,” Coach Turner said.
After its monumental win at the cup, word of the team and its star players began to spread—and with it, national recognition.
Momentum has continued to build. All-Americans are refining their skills for another chance at nomination, and younger athletes are stepping into leadership roles to pursue their own opportunities.
Several other local developing players have worked intensely to reach that highest level, like Millie Rust, who was recently nominated as an all-American.
“I feel excited about being nominated but scared at the same time,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard with soccer, so it feels really good.”
For many of the girls, competing at a high level from a young age and being an all-American is only one step in the journey.
“I really want to become professional or go to college one day, and win the championships in those,” Rust said.
“I want to start off at the all-American, and then I want to go to college, and then become a professional soccer player,” Jazzy Turner said.
Coach Turner’s goal is to turn those dreams into a reality. According to Turner, the Highland Lakes area has produced fewer than 10 Division I athletes across all sports.
“Our long-term vision is to help change that statistic by creating an environment where young athletes can develop the technical skills, confidence, and competitive mindset needed to reach the highest levels of sport,” he said.
Turner has full confidence in his team’s ability to achieve their dreams and has high hopes they will inspire other athletes to chase theirs.
“Through determination, community support, and hard work, they have grown into a team that now competes across Texas and even at the national level,” Turner said. “More importantly, they are showing younger players in our community that big dreams can start in small towns.”