FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Razorback Soccer team has been on fire to start this season with a 5-0-1 record. Part of that success is from fifth-year forward Ava Tankersley, who is playing with a different approach this season.
"It's been different this year. It's a little bittersweet. I'm just more present in every moment and every game and every practice," Tankersley said. "It's been a little bit different, more mentally different, just because I know it is my last."
After an outstanding 2023 campaign in which the team finished as conference champions and Tankersley was named SEC Forward of the Year, she had the chance to turn pro. But, she just couldn't turn her back on this Razorback team with one year left.
"I think just getting the opportunity to have a fifth year is something that I shouldn't take for granted," Tankersley said. "When I got the opportunity, I was pretty sure that I was going to take it just because who wouldn't want to play college soccer for an extra year if you have the opportunity to?"
As far as her pro journey, she said there won't be a lack of opportunities next year.
"There's so many opportunities opening up in America for women's soccer, so I don't think there's going to be a lack of opportunity for me if I would have stayed another year or not. So I thought it would be a good idea just to stay," Tankersley said.
So far, it seems like she made the right call.
"It's been a really fun season," she said. "So far, we've scored a lot of goals and we haven't conceded much, which is always nice, and we're still undefeated, which is always nice too. No one really likes to lose, so it's been nice to win and nice to score all these goals, especially as an attacking player."
However, this success in her final ride has been a long time coming and was built on the foundation of years of hard work.
“Just learning, like, hey, if I'm going to be a pro, you know, Ava, you're going to be a good player, even if you don't embrace those things. But if you want to be a great player and a pro, and you really want to have a chance to see how special you can be, you're going to have to learn how to do some things that maybe don't come as naturally to you. Maybe that you're not naturally great at, and she’s an absolute pro at those hardest workers, most consistent, like life or life as a pro athlete.” Said the Hogs Head Coach Kolby Hale.
While that professional career still lies ahead, there is still one piece of unfinished business at Arkansas, the whole reason she returned, to make history.
"I want to win the national championship really badly and the SEC tournament," Tankersley said. "I don't really care about awards and accolades ... I would rather leave this program as the first-time national champion or a first-time SEC champion. I want to win those things, so I think that's the next step for our program."
Ava and the Hogs are ready for SEC play now as they’ll kick off Thursday evening at home against the LSU Tigers.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.