How Austin Rise FC is making a splash at TST

First came the emotions, then the rain, then the goals.

A few hours before Austin Rise FC's first match at The Soccer Tournament (TST), it all started to sink in for club co-founder, Bethany Cyrtmus-Davaul.

"I just got so emotional and had tears of joy about this journey to get here," Cyrtmus-Davaul told Squad Depth, speaking over the phone from Cary, North Carolina.

Cyrtmus-Davaul, along with four others, founded the Rise in 2022. Now in its third season, the Texas club is currently ranked 15th in the nation in the WPSL, having started the season unbeaten with a record of 3-1-0.

While being one of the most competitive teams in a pre-professional league has been rewarding, the Rise's mission has always been clear: To bring professional women's soccer to Austin, Texas.

With the WPSL pushing the launch of its new professional Division 2 league (WPSL Pro) back until 2026, the Rise decided to keep on evolving in 2025. That meant making a major investment and making a splash at TST.

"We really need to do this tournament"

Having been founded in 2023 as men's only, TST expanded its 7-on-7 competition to also have a women's bracket in 2024. The $1,000,000 prize money was equal for both sides.

"When we saw TST last year, we just loved all the energy, the excitement, the momentum. So, we said: We really need to do this tournament," Cyrtmus-Davaul explained.

"Why not make this a really cool transition year. It's time to take this club from that local Austin team and really start growing our brand and start getting out there at the national stage in preparation for turning pro next year."

It's not an easy feat to get into TST or challenge for the main prize and exposure. It costs $50,000 to register, and then there's taking care of the team's housing and transportation for a number of weeks, as well as coaches and more support staff.

"I think a lot of clubs look at TST for that media exposure...this is a cool platform, what a great opportunity. It's a great place to find talent. We've done a 10 day training camp in Iowa with very specific strategies in mind and tactics, and that's how you make magic happen," said Cyrtmus-Davaul.

"We can win this thing now"

Rise didn't hesitate to go all in on making TST a launch pad for the club's ambitious goals. The team launched a partnership with men's club Newtown Pride, which won the inaugural TST in 2023.

Soon, the head coach of Newtown, Onua Obasi, was brought on to lead the Rise for their TST debut. Obasi is a high-profile star of the U.S. small-sided soccer world, who has won numerous accolades in the arena soccer world in addition to TST.

"Frankly, without Newtown and Obasi, I do not think it would have been as great. We can win this thing now," said Cyrtmus-Davaul.

As well as running the training camp in Iowa leading up to the tournament, Obasi has also helped with recruitment. The Rise team will be made up of an eclectic mix of Austin stars, like Jillian Shimkin, who played soccer at the University of Texas, U.S. futsal internationals, like Jeanette Fieldsend, and players with connections to Obasi, like Canadian Sadie Sider-Echenberg.

"A few months ago, he messaged me. Yeah, it [the women's bracket] is happening. We have a team, you want to be a part of it? And I was like, of course," said Sider-Echenberg, who played at the University of Central Florida and for Le Havre in the French professional first division.

Quickly, this bunch of strangers has become a family.

"All the people involved with Austin Rise are an amazing group of people who are so invested and have so much energy. They kind of like opened up their arms and let us all in. Maybe we weren't connected before, to the club or to the city even, and now, like all of us, are big fans," beamed Sider-Echenberg.

Into the knockouts

Having practiced on dry pitches in Iowa and North Carolina for the past two weeks, the Rise opened TST with a 2-0 defeat to the U.S. Women in a severe downpour.

For the majority of the match, the Rise held their own against revered opposition, featuring American legends such as Ali Krieger, Heather O'Reilly, and Carli Lloyd. The small margins and big moments got away from them despite dominating most of the first half.

"I made this shoulder-to-shoulder challenge on Carli Lloyd. I was like: 'Oh, my God was that okay?'" said Sider-Echenberg. "It was pretty unreal seeing them all before the game, kind of walking around the athletes' village, where our tent is right next to theirs, our little trailer. And then having small conversations after the game."

But after the rain, the goals poured.

In the second match of the group stage, Rise thrashed NWSL representative Angel City FC 5-0. Shimkin scored two stunning goals, with Sider-Echenberg, Zoe Main and Luciana Setteducate adding the others.

That historic win was followed up by a 2-1 win over Process FC that clinched Rise's spot in the quarterfinals of TST as the second place team in Group A.

Shimkin was on the scoresheet again with a dazzling strike that showed immense technique to squeak the ball into the top corner. Maya Hindson scored the winner with a long-range bomb that was unstoppable.

But even if Rise don't advance this journey will have been a valuable one. Something to keep fueling the dream and building momentum towards that ultimate goal of thrusting Austin and women's soccer into the spotlight.

There are three homes games for Austin Rise remaining in the WPSL season and you can find tickets here

You can stream TST here