Soccer’s Super Seniors

Among this year’s Texas State women’s soccer roster are three transfers from other NCAA institutions. Of the trio, two – Caroline Kirschner and Juana Plata – are fifth-year seniors using their extra year of collegiate eligibility, which the NCAA awarded all soccer student-athletes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in San Marcos. 

The duo are key starters on the backline for a position group that had only three returners from the 2021 campaign. They have also helped the Bobcats to a record start at 10-2-2, while currently sitting atop the Sun Belt Conference West Division.

Kirschner and Plata both came to San Marcos for different reasons.

Born in West Virginia but having lived in Beaumont, Texas since she was nine, Kirschner was a three-time all-district selection at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School. One of her assistant coaches during that time is current Texas State assistant Nathan Stockie. 

“Caroline is a competitor,” Stockie said. “She was one of our best players on the high school team and we relied on her for a lot on the pitch.”

“(Kirschner) was one of the top players to come out of Beaumont,” said Holeman. “She’s big, strong, athletic, fast and a great person as well.”

During the recruiting process, Kirschner narrowed her choices down to staying home to attend Lamar or leave her comfort zone to play at St. Edward’s University in Austin. In the end, she opted to head to the Lone Star State capital.

Even though she was only 250 miles from her hometown, she still had family in the area as both of her older brothers – Owen and Ryan – were in the city attending the University of Texas.

Kirschner came in and claimed a starting spot in the lineup for the Hilltoppers. A spot she held onto for the entirety of her four-year career. During that time, she helped the program win the final Heartland Conference regular season title (2018) and qualify for the NCAA Tournament the following year.

Her time in a St. Edward’s uniform came to an end in a 2-1 loss at Texas Woman’s on Nov. 6, 2021. The setback prevented the Hilltoppers from qualifying for a conference tournament for the first time ever in their 23 years as an NCAA program.

Kirschner earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a concentration in pre-physical therapy and was planning to go to a physical therapy school. She didn’t think it was a possibility to play collegiate soccer and attend PT school at the same time due to the time demands for both. 

But that all changed during the early portion of 2022.

“I kind of toyed with the idea of playing another year, so I put my name in the transfer portal and that’s when Nathan reached out to me about transferring to Lamar,” Kirschner said. “At the time I was working at a physical therapy clinic and realized I didn’t like what I was doing. I wasn’t happy and dreaded going to work. 

“So, I quit in March and got a job working as a personal trainer at F45 Training. I came to the realization that I like that kind of work.”

Kirschner also continued talking to Stockie, who had since been brought on as one of Holeman’s assistant coaches, more about playing soccer one more year, this time at Texas State. She eventually came on a visit and decided to join the Bobcats to get her master’s degree in exercise science with a focus in strength and conditioning.

Coming from a Division II program, Kirschner felt worried that she was going to come in unfit or not skilled enough and end up on the sidelines for most of the time. That did not end up being the case.

“I really prepared myself for it to be an extremely hard transition, but it’s been surprisingly not,” Kirschner said. “I think because I set myself up to be fearful of how big the transition was that it hasn’t been that bad. I really pushed myself during the summer to get fit and be in shape, which really helped me get the spot that I have now.”

This season has seen Kirschner play in all 14 matches, starting the first 11 and totaling 1,025 minutes on the pitch. She has helped the Bobcats record four shutouts and surrendering two-or-more goals only three times. The Beaumont native has also added an assist that came on the match-tying goal during the Bobcats’ win over Rice.

Unlike Kirschner, Plata didn’t need too much convincing to transfer to Texas State as she was quite familiar with Holeman and his staff after playing the last four seasons for him at Lamar. 

Out of Houston, Plata started playing soccer at the age of 12, which is ironically the reason she wears the number on the pitch. She was a forward on her Benjamin O. Davis High School, where she was twice selected as the district 18-6A MVP. While recruiting her, Holeman saw the potential in converting her to an outside back because of her speed and footwork. For Plata, it was the best offer at the time as she was coming off an injury.

Plata wrapped up her time in Beaumont playing in 66 matches of which 61 were starts and was on the pitch for 5,090 minutes. She finished with seven career assists of which five came in 2019, when the Cardinals won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships and played UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That year also saw Plata be named to the All-Southland First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region Third Team.

This past spring saw her graduate with a bachelor's degree in marketing and finance. She entered the transfer portal and immediately “had about 20 coaches” reach out to her from all over the country.

“I knew where Coach Holeman went and still wanted to stay in state,” Plata said. “I thought coming here would be a good opportunity.”

Plata has been an instrumental player on the backline at left back and taking corner kicks. All of her team-leading four assists have come off corners, including three occurring in Sun Belt matches.

Currently enrolled in the MBA program, Plata plans on pursuing playing soccer at the professional level. She, then, wants to work in sports marketing with either a college or a professional team that is preferably in the Houston area.

Both Kirschner and Plata will be recognized for their time in a Bobcat uniform on Thursday, Oct. 20 when Texas State hosts South Alabama.