The Vegas to Houston Connection
10/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
The University of Houston Department of Intercollegiate Athletics inspires excellence today while preparing CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE by fostering a culture, which challenges student-athletes to achieve their highest academic, athletic and personal aspirations. Throughout the 2015-16 athletic season, UHCougars.com will highlight Houston student-athletes, coaches and alumni who are committed to building CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE on the field, in the classroom and throughout the community. Today's CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE feature, written by Communications Assistant Joe Fisher, explores the bond between Houston Soccer's team members hailing from Las Vegas.
Help support Hailey Kirkwood, Lexa Green, Megan Brascia, Kelsey Thein, Georgi Dolence and more than 400 Houston student-athletes in their pursuit to be Champions for Life by joining Cougar Pride. Click here to join now.
Las Vegas is known for its hotels and casinos. The city of lights. But it is also called home by five Houston Cougars who grew up playing the game of soccer.
Senior defenders Hailey Kirkwood and Meghan Brascia have been playing together since their childhood days.
"Hailey and I have played club soccer together since we were nine years old," Brascia said.
However, they are not the only pair of teammates to play together before arriving to Houston though. Senior forward Lexa Green has known Brascia and Kirkwood from her days in Vegas too.
"I have known Brascia because of ODP (Soccer Olympic Development Program)," Green said. "But I have known Hailey since sophomore year (In high school)."
Soccer is an ever growing sport in the Unites States, but playing in a city such as Las Vegas has to be an experience like none other. But to Green, it could be just described in just three words.
"Dry and hot," Green said.
But Las Vegas is also not a hot bed for superior soccer talent either.
"Soccer wasn't as competitive in Vegas, so we always had to go compete in California," Brascia said. "But we did win state eight years in a row."
All of these years of playing together from Las Vegas to Houston has led to a certain bond between the three of them. Each of them knowing how to play with the others on the pitch.
"We have a chemistry," Brascia said. "We know how we play."
Soccer is a tough game, mentally and physically, but the ladies know they have each other's back and can sense when one needs their help.
"I know when they're frustrated," Kirkwood said. "And we know when we need to pick each other up."
The bond between them is never broken even after the game has ended.
"Even off the field I know when to leave them alone, or when they need some comforting," Green said.
But the three of them did not have Houston as their first choice. After playing and graduating from high school in Las Vegas, all three attended the University of Akron to play with current Houston Cougar Head Coach Chris Pfau.
"I like Houston, and I really liked Akron," Brascia said." But I didn't visit Akron. I specifically went for Coach Pfau, so when he came down to Houston, I said sure."
Coach Pfau has had a big influence on his players, maybe more than he realizes.
"If he leaves again, we're leaving too," Green said jokingly.
But all three did not come at once. One-by-one they made the move from Akron to Houston to play with Coach Pfau.
"Coach called me and a week after he left and I said sure," Brascia said. "So as soon as he left, I came here with him. His first year here was my first year here."
Kirkwood had a tougher time to make the move to Houston as NCAA transfer rules can be complex and can be met with pushback from the former school.
"I was going to come with Brascia," Kirkwood said. "But I saw things were getting crazy with her appealing, so I just stuck it out till the next year. I missed coach and had to come."
The trio of girls are not the only ones on the team to call Las Vegas home though. Although younger, sophomore defender Kelsey Thein and sophomore midfielder Georgi Dolence arrived to Houston from Las Vegas and were already familiar with the senior girls.
"I played with Brascia's little sister and Georgi was on our team too," Thein said. "I also played for the same club coach as the three older ones."
Thein was also familiar with coach Pfau before even thinking about where to play for college.
"I met him freshman year when he was still at Akron," Thein said. "Since he had Brascia, Hailey, and Lexa, I met him through my club coach."
The existing connection between Thein, Coach Pfau and the three senior girls made the commitment and transition from Vegas to Houston an effortless one for Thein.
"Definitely," Thein said. "They made it a lot easier since they've been through being away from home."
Having four other girls from the same city as you means there's a lot to talk about. For Thein, they sometimes have conversations reflecting on their hometown and what they love about it.
"We talk about Vegas a lot and what makes it better than Houston," Thein said.
But even when they are not talking about Vegas and how much they miss it, some of the girls do have special handshakes that go back to their Vegas playing days.
"We don't even know what they mean anymore," Kirkwood said. "But we still do them."
