The team has no shortage of leaders, including a veteran core that has guided the program for years. But one of its biggest leaders by example this season is someone who has been on campus only a few months.
Freshman forward Addison Briscoe has found her groove in her first campaign in a Wildcat uniform. She leads alongside the veterans, sets up her teammates, and scores goals for a defense-first program. Her impact has been hard to miss.
The story of how she got here starts outside the ACU soccer office. Briscoe had gone in for a meeting with her entire family, including her brother, her dad and her mom, and walked out with an offer in hand. She had other offers and visits on the calendar and planned to let them play out before giving an answer.
"I sat down in the meeting and I got my offer and everything. I was with my entire family — my brother, my dad, and my mom. And I had had other offers, other visits coming up. So I was going to let those play out and come back with an answer," Briscoe said.
She didn't make it out of the parking lot before making up her mind.
"We walked to the car, and I remember my dad telling me, 'What do you think?' And I was like, 'I don't have anything bad to say. Even if I went to those other colleges, I know I'd pick this one.' So my dad was like, 'Okay, well then what's the point of going to those other ones? You already know your answer.' So I walked back in... and I told them, I want to commit here. Like, this is where I want to be," she said.
Head coach Stephen Salas still remembers the moment.
"She came back and was like, 'Hey, I wanna commit.' So, it was just a cool story," Salas said.
It was also a meaningful one for the program, since Briscoe was the Wildcats' top target.
"She was our number one commit that we're looking to go after, so it's always nice to get your number one commit," Salas said.
That was the summer before Briscoe's senior year of high school, and she had turned down interest from some of the biggest college programs along the way. According to her high school coach, Jason Adkins, the pull wasn't really about soccer.
"I think the religious nature of Abilene Christian compared to some other schools — she's strong in her faith, and I think that was a big draw for her. Being able to play at the D-One level, and obviously being on a campus and in the community that she felt comfortable in," Adkins said.
With her future settled, Briscoe entered her senior season at Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas, with something to prove. The year before, her team had lost in the state semifinals on penalty kicks.
"There was just a fire behind everyone since the second day of school — like, we're gonna work our tails off and we're gonna win state this year... To say that I won state my senior year — it's kind of leading up to it. It still feels not real to this day," Briscoe said.
As a senior captain, Briscoe helped set the tone. Adkins credits her with keeping the group locked in.
"Having Addy as a senior captain coming in that year — she got the group really focused, and I think she was a catalyst in that," Adkins said.
The state title was the last chapter of her high school career, and college brought a different kind of test. Her coaches say the way she has handled it traces back to a shift Adkins watched happen in real time.
"Between her sophomore and junior year is really when she grew. Tactically… Talent-wise, it was always there — but she knew she had to be a little bit more physically fit. And she came in her junior year just, I mean, off the charts physically," Adkins said.
That work showed up almost immediately at ACU, in a preseason fitness benchmark known as the beep test, a shuttle run that gets faster every few reps until players can no longer keep pace. Briscoe had set a goal for herself.
"I believe I got 53, and I believe that was the record that I set. I kind of set that mentally for myself — if I'm not the last one standing on the team, I'm going to be the last freshman standing on the team," Briscoe said.
Salas was impressed, as was everyone else on the team.
"She broke our fitness record — she got 53 on the beep test, which is the highest we've ever had. So we knew her capacity was large," Salas said.
Salas says that engine is what lets Briscoe be everywhere at once this season, tracking back on defense and then sprinting into the attack.
"I think she's — if not scored goals, then she's assisted. And if not scored and assisted, then she's created a lot of dangerous opportunities," he said.
Briscoe leads the team with four goals and is tied for first in assists. That production has carried over against ranked, bigger-school opponents, and Briscoe says those results have the team fired up heading into conference play.
"We played just kind of like a game of soccer that we don't usually play — we were just so confident on the ball. It didn't matter if they were a big school or a larger school. At the end of the day, there's 11 girls on each team and we're both just playing soccer," she said.
With conference play underway, Briscoe says the faith that brought her to ACU continues to guide her mindset.
"I just think making an impact and leaving a legacy — that's such a big thing. Like, what's your legacy? What are you gonna leave on the team when you're gone? I just think — not taking a moment for granted — and just growing friendships and relationships with Christ. Yeah. Just leaving a legacy in general," she said.
A parking lot in Abilene. A state title in Texas. A fitness record that still stands. For Addison Briscoe, the freshman leading alongside a team of veterans, the story keeps writing itself one chapter at a time.