As the regular season comes to an end, the year has been nothing short of historic for junior star midfielder Lexi Missimo.
She broke Texas’ program record for most single-season goals, assists and points, along with leading the country in assists and coming in second in goals, but this is not what Missimo has her focus on this time of year as the Longhorns near their postseason run.
Starting her career at Texas, Missimo had already drawn the attention of multiple professional clubs, like Manchester City and Arsenal WFC, leading to her time as a Longhorn being uncertain. Missimo described it as a “year-by-year” decision to continue her time in Austin, but after suffering a high ankle sprain last season that sidelined her for six matches, she knew she had to return to the Forty Acres.
“It just put more motivation into the season. You never know how much you love it until it’s taken away from you,” Missimo said. “I just realized how much I love being on the field, and it just made me love the game all over again.”
Missimo used her passion and rekindled love of the game to work toward the season. Her pursuit of improvement saw Missimo tackle the daunting work over the offseason and led her to the outstanding season.
“I would say, this summer, coming into the season, I don’t think I’ve ever trained harder,” Missimo said. “It was me and my dad every morning at 8 a.m. We went out and put in the work, and it’s obviously showing up.”
One of the biggest changes to her play this year has been her willingness to put more shots on goal. Last season, Missimo played in 17 games and totaled 23 shots on goal. This season, she has more than doubled her shots on goal with 57 in the same amount of games played.
Along with Missimo’s physical training, she reviewed her play over her first two seasons. Missimo looked over the tape and analyzed her game, finding ways to take it to the next level with help, once more, from her father.
“It’s my dad; he just told me to take more shots,” Missimo chuckled. “He’s a great coach.”
Missimo’s trail of broken program records is sufficient evidence to say that her work has paid off, but her accolades couldn’t be further than what she focuses on. She leans heavily into her role as the creator of the offense, but ultimately, her team’s performance takes the top priority.
“If I can make a goal or assist, that is my job on the team, and, obviously, it’s great if I can put any number on the board, but … whatever the team needs from me, I’ll do,” Missimo said.
The Longhorns only have one more game to go in the regular season before the postseason begins, first with the Big 12 Championship and then the NCAA Tournament. Missimo knows that the Longhorns have their work cut out for them, and she hopes to use her performances to put the team first and contribute to their hopeful postseason run.
“I think we have a chip on our shoulder, and we need to prove that this season wasn’t the best of what we could show,” Missimo said. “I think that going into this tournament, everyone’s ready, and we’re going to put our best foot forward.”
