On a team full of brothers, Tori Soland stands out — helping Pantego to historic year
Soccer has always been the dream for junior Tori Soland.
Ask her, and she’ll confidently say, “I plan on playing at a Division 1 school.”
It’s the sport she’s invested in since she was 11. Soland began her high school days at Fort Worth Temple Christian but made the move to Pantego Christian in Arlington for her sophomore year.
That’s when senior running back Jonah Harrison heard about her.
“I found out this girl was coming to play soccer at Pantego. It was the same time we were looking for a kicker on the football team,” Harrison said. “I texted her to come out to the football field, and the next day, she hit like 20 kicks in a row. I ran inside and told coach she was the real deal.”
Soland, a center midfielder on the soccer pitch, was voted District Midfielder of the Year last season for Pantego. Playing for the Dallas Texans in club, she said she’s looking at Minnesota and Texas, among others, for a scholarship.
When it came to football, she had never thought about playing. But when Harrison and head coach Drew Sells asked, she was open to trying new things. During tryouts, Soland made 10 straight kicks.
Then Sells pushed her back five yards, and she nailed a 30-yard field goal — barefooted.
“I said, ‘Yeah, there’s a place for you,’” Sells said.
“I knew it was in me,” Soland added.
Then it was the time for the real test. Full pads, helmet and against another school.
Plus, it was her birthday.
“I went like 8 for 8 on extra points that day,” she said. “The team was like, ‘This is crazy; she’s actually good.’”
“I remember in tryouts, I really pushed her, so she could prove it. Tori is a huge competitor, and she finds ways to win,” Sells said. “She’s the best kicker in the district.”
Soland ended up being second team all-district last season, while the Panthers finished with a winning record and made it to the second round of the TAPPS playoffs. She was 43 of 44 on extra point attempts.
Against Colleyville Covenant on Nov. 2 of this season, Soland made two field goals and all three PAT attempts.
The Panthers (8-1) won 27-25 and captured the program’s first district title in 10 years.
“I told them in the huddle, ‘Tori you sealed the deal for us,’” Sells said. “Looking back to the girl trying out, I asked her what she’d do with the game on the line with pressure, and she said, ‘I’m going to make it.’”
Soland is 26 of 30 on PATs this season. She’s also 5 of 7 on field goals, with a long of 33 yards.
“It’s been awesome being a part of this,” Soland added. “I haven’t been here the whole time, but I know the seniors now have been working at this since they were freshmen. It’s been a long journey, and it’s cool to see.”
The guys have taken her in as well. In a group of brothers, Soland is their only sister.
“People always think it’s awkward since she’s a girl with a team full of guys, but we accepted her as our sister, and now she’s a part of the family,” junior running back Myion Hicks said. “We all trust each other, and we stick up for her. She makes things a lot better.”
“They’re always encouraging and loving, and they don’t treat me any differently,” Soland added.
Said Sells: “They treat her well. We take field goals very seriously, and the guys make sure to protect her.”
The Panthers will host TC-Willow Park, the same team that knocked them out last year, at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the TAPPS Division 3 playoffs.
