Texas Tech University Athletics
Kirsten Davis: Chasing Another Level
August 02, 2019 | Women's Soccer
How a recruiting scare led to Tech's landing of one of the conference's top emerging forwards — and one of the program's top emerging leaders.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Imagine you are a college soccer coach who just came across a smooth, powerful forward at a showcase camp. You have spent the better part of a decade building your program into a perennially ranked team and, just last season, secured the first conference title in school history. You believe this forward from St. Louis could play a major part in replacing some of the potent pieces from that championship team you are about to lose to the pro ranks.
Then, imagine finding out both of her parents graduated from another power-five school across the state. A school whose soccer program is a regular in the national rankings. Even worse, it is known as a legacy school – in other words, if your parents went there, you will, too.
"I thought, 'Dang, this is going to be so tough,'" head coach Tom Stone said. "This school has a strong recruiting base, and when you're a legacy, it's usually tough to pull you away from where your parents went."
Losing the prospect to another in-state school would be brutal, because this forward was special.
"As soon as I walked up and sat in the stands, she scored this ridiculous goal with such ease," recalled Stone. "You could just tell she was young and super athletic. She needed some refinement, but you couldn't deny the talent."
Stone called her parents and prepared to make his pitch. He led off by saying he and his staff really liked the forward, but joked that it might be tough considering where they went to school. He was ready to talk up Texas Tech and asked them to put aside any preconceived notions they may have about the school in West Texas. What her father said next blew Stone away.
"What are you talking about?" He asked. "My wife and I both went to Texas Tech."
All Stone could respond with was, "Wow, I sure got some terrible intel."
With that new information revealed, it did not take much for Stone to convince the family to visit. The best part about all of this, according to Stone, was that her parents had not been back to Lubbock for 10 years.
Since their last visit, the city and campus had changed dramatically. Even better, Stone would be able to show off a $5 million soccer stadium and facility that did not even exist the last time her parents were on campus.
"They had yet to see what Lubbock had become," Stone said. "That 10-year gap is unbelievable. We went from one kind of town to a completely different town in one decade."
Mom and dad were wowed, but this decision was to be made by one person: Kirsten Davis, the smooth, powerful forward from the showcase camp.
Fortunately for Tech – and its future offense – Davis loved being on campus just as much as her parents loved being back on it.
"I knew I had always wanted to go to school in a college town," said Davis. "I instantly fell in love with it when I got here."
Though the visit was great, it took a few months – agonizing months, if you ask Stone – for her to arrive at her decision. When she did, she elected to become a Red Raider.
The impact of her signing was immediately felt by the program.
"There are certain days that just change your program for the better," Stone said. "When Kirsten committed, we just thought about how we're going to have a collection of players here that are going to be different and complimentary and ferocious. We were so excited."
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
Standing 5-foot-10 and possessing blistering speed will get you noticed in the youth and prep circuits. For Davis, this attention came in the form of All-Conference, All-District, All-State and All-America awards – all from multiple publications – while playing for Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis.
At the club level, her invitation to play with national powerhouse Dallas Sting SC led to looks from the U.S. National Team. She donned the red, white and blue for the U.S. U-18, U-19 and U-20 teams and traveled to Honduras and Ireland for tournaments. While with the Sting, Davis would fly from St. Louis to Dallas every weekend in the summer for games.
"Playing with the Sting and going to camp with the U.S. forces you to play at another level," Davis said. "I had never played with many players that were better than me, so my time there pushed me to work on a lot of things."
"Kirsten strived to put herself in better and better environments to refine her skills," Stone said. "Before you know it, she's playing with the national team as well as one of the top clubs in one of the top leagues in the country. In addition to that, we were in her ear every month keeping up with her. She has a huge desire for feedback, and receiving feedback from so many great sources transformed her game even more."
Eager to plug his new forward into the offense, Stone penciled Davis into the starting lineup 15 times during her freshman season. She saw the field in all 19 games. The forward notched her first collegiate goal just four games in with the game-winner in a 1-0 win at San Diego. A plane ride to Lubbock later, she found the back of the net again during Tech's 4-0 romp of Appalachian State.
Twice more in the 2017 campaign would she knock one in, including another game-winner when San Diego State came to town. A strong debut season in the books, Davis was determined to step it up even more in year two.
Davis and her offense, paired with a stingy Red Raider defense, tallied 14 wins – the most for the program since it claimed the Big 12 Championship in 2015. The team won five conference games and knocked off a program-record four ranked opponents en route to finding itself ranked at No. 24 come season's end.
That final ranking was solidified by a strong postseason, during which Davis began to pick up the recognition she deserved. It started at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, where she played all 110 minutes of Tech's scoreless draw against TCU. The Red Raiders knocked off the Horned Frogs via penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, she got off seven shots against No. 9 Baylor. One of the four she put on net found its way to the back in the 56th minute to tie the game and send it to overtime. For the effort, she was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team.
The following week, Davis was introduced to NCAA Tournament soccer for the first time in her career when Tech drew No. 21 Princeton in the first round. She dominated the game, scoring once herself and dishing out assists on each of the other two goals scored in Tech's 3-0 rout of the Ivy League champions. She was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week after joining former All-American Janine Beckie as the only Red Raiders to record four or more points in an NCAA Tournament game. Come season's end, she was voted onto the United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Midwest Region.
FITNESS AS A WEAPON
For a team that prides itself on its strength and conditioning, as well as use of advanced sports science technology, Davis epitomizes the fit player Stone looks to build. Last year's stat sheet proved just how valuable fitness can be when paired with a player of Davis' talent.
"Her fitness just demands the ball," Stone said. "She's always getting open. She's like Steph Curry – she's one of those players that is always moving. She just never stops. You might be able to guard her for the first 20 minutes, but when you get to the 70th to 90th minutes and you're tired, she's still as open as she was in the beginning.
"We always say fitness is a weapon or a weakness, and, for her, it is absolutely a weapon."
Such fitness brings out confidence in a player.
"I've noticed more of an edge has started to come out of her," Stone said. "She is more verbal and vocal. She doesn't just need to be a compliment of this offense – she needs to be the commanding presence. And she's becoming that."
"I feel like one of my strengths is that I've always been a player that runs to the goal," Davis said. "But as I've gotten stronger and faster over the years in my time being here, it continues to add to my game."
ALWAYS WORK TO BE DONE
When not in class, Davis can be found at the John Walker Soccer Complex, working on skills she feels like she needs to improve. Other times, she will head there with a drill suggested to her by one of the coaches.
"The coaches send me a lot of videos or articles on things they think I can learn or improve on," Davis said. "And as soon as I get them, I'll go to the field and set up the drills myself and get to work."
Whether it be a skill she has locked down or something she needs to work at refining, Davis attacks her day's work with the same determination every time.
"She spends so much time in the offseason working on her weaknesses," Stone said. "People don't want to do that. People like working on their strengths because it makes them feel good. She always desires to work on things that will make her even better.
"She doesn't crave attention, either. She isn't after individual awards and she doesn't advertise that she's out there working hard. She has this desire to win first for her team. Anything that comes after, so be it."
"Last year was definitely a big year for me," Davis said. "It motivates me to get better, because there will always be someone that is stronger than me or faster than me. If I continue to chase that idea, it'll take me to another level. And then another one and another one."
Then, imagine finding out both of her parents graduated from another power-five school across the state. A school whose soccer program is a regular in the national rankings. Even worse, it is known as a legacy school – in other words, if your parents went there, you will, too.
"I thought, 'Dang, this is going to be so tough,'" head coach Tom Stone said. "This school has a strong recruiting base, and when you're a legacy, it's usually tough to pull you away from where your parents went."
Losing the prospect to another in-state school would be brutal, because this forward was special.
"As soon as I walked up and sat in the stands, she scored this ridiculous goal with such ease," recalled Stone. "You could just tell she was young and super athletic. She needed some refinement, but you couldn't deny the talent."
Stone called her parents and prepared to make his pitch. He led off by saying he and his staff really liked the forward, but joked that it might be tough considering where they went to school. He was ready to talk up Texas Tech and asked them to put aside any preconceived notions they may have about the school in West Texas. What her father said next blew Stone away.
"What are you talking about?" He asked. "My wife and I both went to Texas Tech."
All Stone could respond with was, "Wow, I sure got some terrible intel."
With that new information revealed, it did not take much for Stone to convince the family to visit. The best part about all of this, according to Stone, was that her parents had not been back to Lubbock for 10 years.
Since their last visit, the city and campus had changed dramatically. Even better, Stone would be able to show off a $5 million soccer stadium and facility that did not even exist the last time her parents were on campus.
"They had yet to see what Lubbock had become," Stone said. "That 10-year gap is unbelievable. We went from one kind of town to a completely different town in one decade."
Mom and dad were wowed, but this decision was to be made by one person: Kirsten Davis, the smooth, powerful forward from the showcase camp.
Fortunately for Tech – and its future offense – Davis loved being on campus just as much as her parents loved being back on it.
"I knew I had always wanted to go to school in a college town," said Davis. "I instantly fell in love with it when I got here."
Though the visit was great, it took a few months – agonizing months, if you ask Stone – for her to arrive at her decision. When she did, she elected to become a Red Raider.
The impact of her signing was immediately felt by the program.
"There are certain days that just change your program for the better," Stone said. "When Kirsten committed, we just thought about how we're going to have a collection of players here that are going to be different and complimentary and ferocious. We were so excited."
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH
At the club level, her invitation to play with national powerhouse Dallas Sting SC led to looks from the U.S. National Team. She donned the red, white and blue for the U.S. U-18, U-19 and U-20 teams and traveled to Honduras and Ireland for tournaments. While with the Sting, Davis would fly from St. Louis to Dallas every weekend in the summer for games.
"Playing with the Sting and going to camp with the U.S. forces you to play at another level," Davis said. "I had never played with many players that were better than me, so my time there pushed me to work on a lot of things."
"Kirsten strived to put herself in better and better environments to refine her skills," Stone said. "Before you know it, she's playing with the national team as well as one of the top clubs in one of the top leagues in the country. In addition to that, we were in her ear every month keeping up with her. She has a huge desire for feedback, and receiving feedback from so many great sources transformed her game even more."
Eager to plug his new forward into the offense, Stone penciled Davis into the starting lineup 15 times during her freshman season. She saw the field in all 19 games. The forward notched her first collegiate goal just four games in with the game-winner in a 1-0 win at San Diego. A plane ride to Lubbock later, she found the back of the net again during Tech's 4-0 romp of Appalachian State.
Twice more in the 2017 campaign would she knock one in, including another game-winner when San Diego State came to town. A strong debut season in the books, Davis was determined to step it up even more in year two.
THE BREAKOUT YEAR
A sophomore slump not even in the equation, Davis nearly doubled her first year's goals with seven of her own in 2018. Despite possessing such speed and strength – and a hunger to go to goal – Davis dished out seven assists to her teammates, showing her versatility as a true scorer and ability to place perfect passes to other Red Raiders who may be crashing the net. Her 21 points ranked fourth in the Big 12, and this year it will rank second among returning players. She rattled off 68 shots – the most on the team and second most in the conference. The sophomore striker tallied one of the season's most dramatic goals at home against No. 17 Texas when she broke free from the Longhorn back line and buried the game-winner in the 86th minute.Davis and her offense, paired with a stingy Red Raider defense, tallied 14 wins – the most for the program since it claimed the Big 12 Championship in 2015. The team won five conference games and knocked off a program-record four ranked opponents en route to finding itself ranked at No. 24 come season's end.
That final ranking was solidified by a strong postseason, during which Davis began to pick up the recognition she deserved. It started at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, where she played all 110 minutes of Tech's scoreless draw against TCU. The Red Raiders knocked off the Horned Frogs via penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, she got off seven shots against No. 9 Baylor. One of the four she put on net found its way to the back in the 56th minute to tie the game and send it to overtime. For the effort, she was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team.
The following week, Davis was introduced to NCAA Tournament soccer for the first time in her career when Tech drew No. 21 Princeton in the first round. She dominated the game, scoring once herself and dishing out assists on each of the other two goals scored in Tech's 3-0 rout of the Ivy League champions. She was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week after joining former All-American Janine Beckie as the only Red Raiders to record four or more points in an NCAA Tournament game. Come season's end, she was voted onto the United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Midwest Region.
FITNESS AS A WEAPON
"Her fitness just demands the ball," Stone said. "She's always getting open. She's like Steph Curry – she's one of those players that is always moving. She just never stops. You might be able to guard her for the first 20 minutes, but when you get to the 70th to 90th minutes and you're tired, she's still as open as she was in the beginning.
"We always say fitness is a weapon or a weakness, and, for her, it is absolutely a weapon."
Such fitness brings out confidence in a player.
"I've noticed more of an edge has started to come out of her," Stone said. "She is more verbal and vocal. She doesn't just need to be a compliment of this offense – she needs to be the commanding presence. And she's becoming that."
"I feel like one of my strengths is that I've always been a player that runs to the goal," Davis said. "But as I've gotten stronger and faster over the years in my time being here, it continues to add to my game."
ALWAYS WORK TO BE DONE
"The coaches send me a lot of videos or articles on things they think I can learn or improve on," Davis said. "And as soon as I get them, I'll go to the field and set up the drills myself and get to work."
Whether it be a skill she has locked down or something she needs to work at refining, Davis attacks her day's work with the same determination every time.
"She spends so much time in the offseason working on her weaknesses," Stone said. "People don't want to do that. People like working on their strengths because it makes them feel good. She always desires to work on things that will make her even better.
"She doesn't crave attention, either. She isn't after individual awards and she doesn't advertise that she's out there working hard. She has this desire to win first for her team. Anything that comes after, so be it."
"Last year was definitely a big year for me," Davis said. "It motivates me to get better, because there will always be someone that is stronger than me or faster than me. If I continue to chase that idea, it'll take me to another level. And then another one and another one."
KIRSTEN. DAVIS. DAGGER. #WRECKEM pic.twitter.com/q1159gPFGy
— Texas Tech Soccer (@TexasTechSoccer) October 26, 2018
Players Mentioned
Forward
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