By AnnaGrace Hale | Sports Writer
For those watching Baylor soccer this season, no, you aren’t seeing double. Twin freshmen Hallie Augustyn and Hannah Augustyn are guarding the backline for the Bears this season.
The twins helped lead Flower Mound High School to the 6A State Championship in 2021 as well as back-to-back district championships in 2021-22. Both were named TASCO First-Team All-Region. Hallie was awarded District-6 6A Defensive player of the year her senior year.
After both joined the Baylor (0-1-1) team with stacked high school resumes, Hannah said these awards didn’t add pressure as she transitioned to college-level of play, but only increased her confidence.
“There are standards you want to uphold,” Hallie said. “We put [pressure] on ourselves, more than anyone else puts it on us.”
Playing at the next level for the same school was not always part of the plan, but after visiting Baylor, the Flower Mound natives fell in love with the atmosphere and coaching staff.
“During the visit, we would give each other looks,” Hannah said. “We gave each other a look and we were like ‘Yeah, we really love this place.’”
As two out of the fifteen new faces on the soccer team, the girls said the older players have proven to be welcoming, helping with move-in and working hard to call the sisters the correct names.
“People tend to think of you as one person,” Hannah said, “But with this team, they know that you are two separate people, and they treat us like two separate people. They know our different personalities, and they try really hard to call us by the correct name.”
In the past four games, the twins have started on the backline for the Bears under head coach Michelle Lenard. Hallie wears No. 27 holding down the central defense as Hannah sports No. 28, stringing together passes along the sideline.
“I like building out the back and I like creating plays,” Hallie said. “I like distributing the ball.”
Hannah and Hallie both claimed a spot in the starting lineup in the first game of the season against the University of Minnesota with Hannah playing all 90 minutes in the back. Against the University of Wisconsin, both sisters found themselves in the starting lineup again where Hallie played in central defense for the full game.
Both said that making their way into the starting 11 was something they were not expecting during their freshman season.
“Coming in I just knew I needed to really try hard and prove myself in [the] preseason,” Hannah said. “I was not expecting to play the full game.”
Hallie said she felt the same.
“I was going to try my hardest to get some minutes on the field,” Hallie said. “It kind of came as a surprise getting that much playing time — a starting spot.”
The pair work together in the defense with constant communication and, with the added bonus of being sisters, hold each other accountable.
“I know that I can snap at her if she keeps on continuing making the same mistake,” Hannah said. “And I know I can trust her too because I have been playing soccer with her in the backline for 14 years so I know she’s got my back.”
