It was halftime, and Tarleton State women’s soccer was losing 4-0. They had conceded the goals sloppily and swiftly: four in 15 minutes. For the program’s fifth match ever, it was hard to imagine a worse start.

At the break, coach Pete Cuadrado called his squad together and demanded more. His instructions weren’t to seal things off and avoid further embarrassment. Instead, he wanted his team to up the intensity and start the second half strong. Five minutes into the second half, a neat finish off the right foot of Sydney Rouillard came. Things were close for the remaining 40 and the Texas side had two more looks on goal. And although Tarleton couldn’t drag itself out of a 4-0 hole, Cuadrado was satisfied.

“We’ve got to find those victories in moments like that,” Cuadrado said.

That match was the first heavy defeat in Tarleton history. The Texans started their soccer program last year, and played their first competitive match in early August. And things are off to a strong start in Stephenville, Texas, as the program has found form early — and suggested that there might just be something to build on.

“To put a young team together, not a super amount of depth,” Cuadrado said. “I've really been impressed with what they've got done so far.”

Cuadrado, a coach with a wealth of soccer experience, was hired quickly after Tarleton State announced it was forming a women’s soccer team in January 2021. He had notched 168 career wins across stints at Wyoming and North Dakota State, coaching the former to a Mountain West Championship in 2018. Cuadrado was also from Texas, played soccer at nearby TCU and spent his summers in a condo on Padre Island, a few short hours from the school.

Cuadrado was an easy choice. Piecing together a program, though, was another question. Stephenville, Texas, seems an unlikely place for a university. It has a population of just over 40,000, nearly half of which comes from the college itself. It’s an isolated place, too, over 100 miles removed from any major metropolitan area. Athletic pedigree is accordingly limited, with the sporting hotbed of Dallas a two-hour drive away. But Cuadrado — well familiar with coaching in isolated areas — embraced the challenge.

“I enjoy smaller towns,” Cuadrado said. “Fargo, North Dakota, is not huge. Laramie, Wyoming, is definitely not huge. But it's nice to be in a smaller community that really gets behind the athletics program.”

And the fact that he was handed a blank slate certainly helped. When Athletic Director Lonn Reisman brought him on in early 2021, Tarleton State soccer only existed in theory. The stadium, locker room and other facilities were either yet to be built or covered in scaffolding. The roster had exactly zero players and zero assistants. Cuadrado had a clear plan, though. He informed Reisman and his staff that he would need 22 players for the 2022 season, comprising 16 freshmen and six transfers. Cuadrado also had a specific type of player in mind. His coaching style was traditionally one of adaptability, switching between formations, playing style and personnel depending on the opponent. Having versatile players was vital.

The recruiting trail fitted those ambitions well. Convincing players to come to Wyoming or North Dakota had been a problem, even though he’d established connections with club coaches across the country. Offering players the chance to build something from scratch — especially in Texas — had a certain appeal. The 16 freshmen he brought in all came from solid club soccer backgrounds, a blend of in-state and west-coast talent.

“I just felt way more valued here,” Sydney Rouillard said. “I just really matched with the coaches. I just felt like it was going to be a really good home for me for the next four years.”

Getting the right transfers in was a little more difficult. Hundreds of players enter the portal every year, and name recognition — as well as the chance to play near an athlete’s home town — is often crucial. Overseeing a brand new, relatively anonymous program wasn’t always conducive to bringing in the experience the team needed. Still, Cuadrado convinced a handful of transfers to come to campus on official visits. And many of them were sold.

“It was not very hard to convince me to come here,” Georgia transfer Macie Witter said. “The school spirit is awesome. The campus is super pretty. And the coaches are really amazing.”

So, by August 1, Cuadrado had most of his team. They trained on a new pitch, complete with crisp lettering and bright purple accents. They practiced in fresh gear, emblazoned with a striking logo. And as the Texas heat started to set in, the squad started to come together. Rouillard, a strong center back, and fifth-year midfielder Kiki Baurmann impressed, as did sophomore transfer Adriana Alonso-Gomez. Still, here was a largely untested group at the college level. Only two of the six transfers were regular starters at their previous programs and combined for six career goals.

“I think the coaches recruited really well,” Witter said. “Everyone is a really hard worker and they're a great team player. I definitely think a lot of girls, the older they get, the better they'll get.”

The Texans’ first goal was an ambitious thing. In the 70th minute, Alonso-Gomez was offered space 30 yards from goal. She strode onto the ball, swiftly stroking it over the keeper, off the bar and into the back of the net. Her strike salvaged a 1-1 draw on the road, a hard-earned point to start Cuadrado’s tenure. The results continued to come over the following week. Nicholls University was dispatched thanks to a late goal from defender Rylee Low.

Then came the home opener.

The athletic department has pushed all week for students to attend. By kickoff, the capacity of 2,500 had been reached, with more fans watching from behind the fences that surrounded the pitch. The first Tarleton State goal came six minutes in, the second after 28 minutes. By half time, it was 3-0. Two more goals arrived before the 60th minute, sending a packed crowd into delight. The team kept celebrating, all the way until the 6th goal went in, five minutes from time — completing a 6-0 battering of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on their home debut.

Five games in, the Texans are 3-1-1. The wins have been emphatic, the loss one-sided. Still, there are suggestions of a team here. They’re thin — a few major injuries have left Cuadrado with just 20 players to choose from — but have unearthed some real talents.

“We were fortunate to just be solid across the board,” Cuadrado said. “I don't feel like there was any position that we didn't get enough to compete in.”

When Tarleton’s conference, the WAC, picked the newcomers to finish in last place in its preseason poll, the coach chided:

"I can't believe they picked a team who has never lost a game to finish last, but I guess we'll just have to go out and compete.”

So far, the Texans haven’t shied away from the competition.