EDINBURG — Her voice is often heard above the other 21 players on the field. It resonates; it’s never critical but both demanding and congratulatory, like that of a teacher, coach, teammate and leader all rolled into one
“Good idea on that,” she yells out to one teammate.
“Great defense,” she hollers to another. “In the middle,” she advises another, as she calls for the ball.
Once she gets that ball, a goal is usually the outcome.
Edinburg Vela’s Taylor Campbell holds a treasure chest of star qualities. On the soccer field, she’s one of the greatest goal scorers in Rio Grande Valley girls soccer history. In the classroom, the National Honor Society member shines just as bright.
Combined, she’s a soccer coach’s dream and an opponent’s nightmare.
During a year still dominated by COVID-19, Campbell is one of three Valley girls soccer players who are amazingly rewriting the record book. Coming into the 2021 season, former Sharyland High star Katie Watson held the Valley’s all-time career scoring record with 146 goals. This season, Campbell, Donna North’s Gabriella Aviles, and Sharyland High’s Xochitl Nguma have all shattered that record and continue to score at a breakneck pace.
Today, Aviles has 162 career goals, while Campbell sits at 170. Nguma leads the pack at 176. The three have dominated the pitch throughout their careers, scoring a combined 505 goals.
Donna North has four district matches remaining, Sharyland High has one and Edinburg Vela is done with regular season. All three teams are bound for the playoffs.
“All three of those girls are making history,” Edinburg Vela head coach Americo Cortez said. “What they have done in the past three years is going to stay and be talked about for a long time. They are excellent soccer players.”
Of course, he’s seen Campbell for years and he knows to what level his forward can play the game. Last month, Campbell signed her letter of intent to play college soccer at Trinity, the school she longed to attend since she first participated in a soccer I.D. camp.
A model student off the field, Cortez said she’s the type of player that makes others around her better and is a coach on the field.
“I can’t be out there telling everyone where to go and what to do,” Cortez said. “But she does that. She is a student of the sport. She can shoot hard, she has great field vision and moves to the open spots. The main thing is she scores and scores right away.
“I’ve seen her score on so many hard shots, ones that you can’t believe she scored on and from far away too.”
Cortez recalled a shot recently when the ball went flying into the box and Campbell punched it with her foot mid-air and into the goal, seemingly like it had been planned exactly that way. Another time, Campbell got the ball at the top of the penalty box and before anyone could hardly move, she turned and drilled a shot past a stunned keeper, who could only watch the bullet fly by. The celebration was over before everyone realized the ball was in the net.
“It’s been amazing to see her score so many goals,” Cortez said. “And she’s been doing it since she first played on the varsity.”
Cavazos Sports Institute owner Jaime Cavazos, who trains Campbell off the soccer field, said while her talent is superior, it’s the intangibles that she brings to everyday life that moves her from good to great.
“She’s no drama and that’s a difficult thing,” Cavazos said. “Last year a switched flipped and she took everything to another level but she possesses so many things outside of her skill set that will help her achieve more and more. That’s what makes her so special.”
During Campbell’s freshman year, she remembers playing a tough Harlingen squad.
“We lost the game 6-5, but I remember scoring three goals and each goal tied the game up,” she said. “I realized then that I could do well in this sport.”
She’s done more than well. She’s made the team around her better. Throughout the season, more and more teammates were growing into the offense. While Campbell finished the 15-0-1 District 31-6A championship season with 54 goals, the SaberCats exploded for 130 total goals while surrendering seven.
Ky Richards, Campbell’s teammate and friend, said Campbell is not just a scorer, but a playmaker. The two “stuck to the grind,” Richards said during the pandemic, spending almost every day together, training, just hanging out, “or both.”
“Taylor is the most calm, cool and collected person I know, which is a great trait to have on and off the field,” Richards said. “I love playing alongside her and seeing her creativity on the field. As focused and competitive as she is, she actually makes playing soccer with her so much fun.
“She has the ability to not only do great things on the field, but make other players look good, too.”
“People were constantly marking Taylor, but she would still score. It didn’t matter,” Cortez said. “Then the girls around her started scoring more and teams saw we had several girls who could score.
“She can change a game and has been a great and special player. For years to come, when you talk about Edinburg Vela soccer, you’ll be talking about Taylor”