Looking at the set of results from Disney Showcase last week, the top flight of the U15 Girls age group shows Dallas-area club Solar SC beating CASL Spartan Elite 2-0 in the final. Other than the normal achievement of a team winning a big tournament, it doesn’t seem particularly noteworthy, a close game with a pair of good teams playing.

But the story behind this tournament win for Solar is rather extraordinary.

The day before the tournament started, Tambra Holcomb, mother of Solar’s talented midfielder Loudell Crumpler, died at age 46 from melanoma. The story of the events revolving around last week’s tournament is a true testimony to the inner strength and toughness of a group of girls, the true family-like bond of a group of girls and their families, and the legacy of one lady who loved her family, her daughter’s team and the game of soccer.

It should be noted that despite knowing of her illness, Tambra’s death was unexpected.

“Everyone was stunned and shocked,” is how team coach Adrian Solca described the group’s reaction to the news. Team Manager Gretchen Magee said Tambra went out of her way to put forth a positive impression regarding her condition.

“Tambra was always so positive and optimistic. Up until just a couple of months ago, she was still very strong and feeling good and optimistic,” Magee said. “That was always the side that she showed everyone. She was very strong.”

Magee added that while Tambra was thinking of others, the team knew it was a tough two years on the family since she was first diagnosed. The family lives in Wichita Falls, nearly a three-hour drive from the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. Tambra’s husband Tom Holcomb was also helping her get to other parts of the country for medical treatment.

Team members began arriving in Orlando for the Disney Showcase on Dec. 30, with the tournament scheduled to begin the next day. They were expecting Loudell to arrive as well, but it wasn’t to be, as Tom Holcomb explained.

“We were going to fly there as a family on the 30th. Peggy Mae (the couple’s 8-year old daughter) had her best friend move to near Disney and they were going to have a big reunion, plus with Loudell’s soccer we were going to have a big time as a family. Then Tambra took a turn and we decided Tambra and I were going to stay and just Loudell and Peggy Mae would go,” Tom said. “We really didn’t want the girls to see what we were seeing and I thought it would be a good break for them. But we called in hospice on Monday the 29th, and they told me they thought she had two weeks. I was still in favor of sending them because I didn’t want them to watch too much.

“Well to make the flight (from Dallas) they had to leave at 3:30 a.m.,” he continued. “My brother was going to take them but when I woke Loudell up, she must have had a sense because she just said, ‘I’m not going.’ I asked her again and she said again she’s not going, so I told her to go back to sleep and didn’t wake Peggy Mae up. So I called Adrian back and told him she wasn’t coming.”

By that afternoon, Tambra was gone.

Upon hearing the tragic news, Adrian Solca was considering pulling the team out of the tournament. Tom Holcomb and Loudell were adamant that he not do this.

“I told him Tambra would not want them not to play. People had flown there and drivng there. I told him we’re going to make it through this, but we would not be happy if you didn’t play,” Tom said. “I understand everyone is shook up because this team is a pretty tight family, but Tambra would not want them not to play.”

Of course for a group of 14 and 15-year old girls, or anyone else for that matter, to play under such circumstances is no simple matter. But the team began to form a resolve to do well in honor of Tambra’s memory and for her family’s sake.

“They took it really hard, but then they began to process the information and went out to play,” Magee said.

And play they did. Wearing black armbands and having a moment of silence before every game, the Solar team began to perform at their normal high level, advancing from the group stage and reaching the semifinal.

“The girls were very strong to play through this,” Solca said. “They showed a lot of strength.”

While she wasn’t in Orlando, Loudell was very much a part of the team’s daily routine during the tournament.

“The girls were texting Loudell pretty regularly, giving her words of support,” Magee said. “Loudell just wanted to know what was going on with the games. She was dealing with her own personal situation, but she cared about the girls on the team as well.”

Veteran team member Quinnie Truong said the team never stopped thinking of Loudell and her family.

“After every game we called her and put her on speaker, and told her how that day’s game went,” she said. “We just laughed with her and told her about stuff that happened at the hotel and kept her with us in spirit.”

Truong added that apart from supporting their teammate, the team was single-minded in their on-field goal.

“We were just talking about winning the tournament for Tambra,” she said. “She was so into soccer and all she wanted was for us to win, so we played hard for her.”

In the semifinal match, Solar won 2-1 over Michigan Hawks. Taylor Smith scored in the early going, but Hawks tied the match to send it to overtime. Brinkley Field scored the winner off a corner kick to put the squad into the final.

Solar then prevailed over Region III rival CASL with a 2-0 win in the final. Quinnie Truong scored the opener and Amy Joya iced the match with a late goal.

Tambra Holcomb’s funeral service was held in Wichita Falls while the team was still competing in Orlando. Loudell said she never quit thinking about the fortunes of the team, even as she was going through everything else.

“I just really wanted them to win,” she said. “They all called and were like ‘We wish you were here.’ I said ‘I know, you just need to go out and play hard.’”

Loudell is a top player for Region III ODP, but she said she never doubted her team could win.

“I knew they were pretty strong. It’s a team, so it’s not like if one player is missing the team falls apart. It’s a fantastic team.”

Loudell said her coach texted her three times after the win.

“First he said ‘We missed you.’ Then he asked ‘How are you?’ Then he said ‘We wanted to win this so bad for you.’ I thought it was so sweet he said that. Everyone was so great.”

A number of family members who hadn’t traveled to Florida went to Wichita Falls to pay their respects. Gretchen Magee said the team is planning some kind of medal ceremony for Loudell and another teammate unable to make the trip due to injury. The event will also be a celebration and remembrance of Tambra’s life.

Tom Holcomb recalled sending an email to the team at some point during the tournament.

“I just told them ‘Y’all don’t stop for us,’” he said. “’Y’all go get them.’”

Solar Red 94 Roster:

Jennifer Jasper, Macee Blanchard, Rikki Clarke, Brinkley Field, Quynh-Nhu Truong, Jackie Choucair, Hailee Hunn, Amy Joya, Jade Dapaah, Taylor Smith, Heather Magee, Sara Ovandipour, Loudell Crumpler, Anjadai Seals, Bobbie Gutierrez, Madeline Wood, Jazmyne Simmons, McKenzie Hightower