'Carving Greatness:' The Lexi Missimo story
Raised as a legacy, forged by the Texas heat, Missimo burnt her own path along the way
Chris Allen Brown
11/17/2023
Most women’s soccer stories end in the Raleigh-Cary metroplex. However, this one actually begins at the other end of the 31-minute drive along I-40 West in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1987.
That’s when and where Derek Missimo began to carve his name into the University of North Carolina (UNC) men’s soccer record books.
In his first season in Chapel Hill, Derek helped the Tar Heels earn the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship en route to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. By the time he put the chisel and gouge down four seasons later in 1990, Derek was the program’s all-time leader in goals (56) and total points (138).
Records that still stand to this day.
A year later, another pillar was built for this story’s protagonist.
Born in Scotland but raised in Canada, Angela Kelly picked up Derek’s chisel and gouge and began carving out a place to etch her own name amongst the all-time great student-athletes in UNC history.
Over her four-year career in Chapel Hill, Angela and her Tar Heel squads combined to post a 97-1-1 record with four ACC regular season, four postseason tournament championships, and four consecutive national titles. The four-year span highlighted a program turned dynasty that went on to produce eight of the 20-member United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) that won the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
So, it makes sense why a preschool-aged Lexi Missimo would be wearing a UNC cheerleading outfit at a soccer pitch while Derek was coaching Lexi’s older sister, Gabby.
“That was (Lexi’s) introduction to soccer,” Derek said. “The ball would fall to her, and she would gravitate towards it. Everything just grew from there.”
“My first memory of soccer … I was with my cousin, and I didn’t really know what soccer was,” Lexi said. “I think we were playing on the Blue Bears. I was in the corner, and we were just picking flowers on the field. I had no idea what soccer was.
“But I think things began to get serious when I was a mascot for one of Gabby’s matches. At the time, I would wear a UNC cheerleading uniform — because my dad went to UNC — and after that I was like, ‘Well, this looks pretty fun. (Gabby) looks like she’s enjoying herself, so I might as well try it. So, I jump in during her practices, and it’s been history ever since then.”
“… it’s been history ever since …” may be an understatement … to say the least.
Before Lexi could legally drive a car, she had participated in a combined 10 different team camps within the United States Youth National Team (USYNT) organization as well as a pair of international camps in Germany and Belgium. She was already a multi-time national champion on the club soccer scene before graduating from Southlake Carroll (TX) High School, where she actually did not play soccer at.
In a 14-year span throughout the 2000s, Lexi had already seen more of the world than Halley’s Comet did during the same time period.
California. Pulled down the sunglasses.
Colorado. Packed the ski jacket.
Florida. Brought the SPF 50 sunscreen.
Italy. Bought a slice of pizza.
Netherlands. Got the passport stamped.
South Korea. Portugal. Sweden. United Kingdom.
Been there. Done that.
(She went on to add Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and France, too, after graduating high school.)
Lexi was as qualified to be a world-wide tour guide for those back in Southlake as she was a five-star recruit on the soccer pitch. The Top Drawer Soccer publication tabbed her as the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation from Fall 2018 to Fall 2021. Even after she reclassified to the Class of 2020, Lexi was still at the top of the rankings.
“She was naturally athletic, and everything came easy,” Derek said. “Everything athletically, she’s been able to do well.”
“Ever since I first stepped into my sister’s practices and began to notice how easy it was, even playing for teams that had players two-to-three years older than me, that’s when I knew,” Lexi said. “After that, I think my dad realized, too, ‘Oh, I think we may have something here.’
“So, since then, he and I would go to what we call ‘The Factory’ and put in hours every day, even before my club training, and since then it’s just been history of us training together.”
“She was naturally athletic, and everything came easy. Everything athletically, she’s been able to do well.”Derek Missimo
Even after arriving on the Forty Acres to play for Angela in the Spring of 2021, the grind never stopped for Lexi. In fact, her first career collegiate soccer match was just a sign of things to come for the 5-foot-8 midfielder.
On March 5, 2021, Lexi was credited with four of Texas’ 12 points in a four-goal victory against Texas State. She picked up career assist number one and two as Haley Berg and Mackenzie McFarland each scored a goal less than two minutes apart.
And what about her first career collegiate goal? That came six minutes and four seconds into the second half when she converted a penalty kick attempt against the Bobcats.
“The difference between Ange and the other coaches, I would say, is that she treated me like family and an actual person rather than just a player,” Lexi said. “And that’s what I really admire the most about Ange. She’s definitely family to me.”
Throughout her first full season of collegiate women’s soccer, Lexi either broke or tied three different UT single-season record:
- Fastest student-athlete to 10 career goals in program history (12 matches)
- Most goals in a single match (4)
- Most assists in a single match (4)
- Most assists in a single season (14*)
*since been broken
Again, it just made sense, right? For the No. 1 overall recruit to come in and match program records right away. That’s normal, right?
Wrong.
This was something different. This was something special. This was a foreshadow of what was to come for the young woman, who wore kit number 10 in honor of one of the greatest footballers in the sport’s history, Lionel Messi.
The Fall 2021 season concluded with Lexi earning the Big 12 Conference’s Freshman of the Year award, named to College Soccer News All-Freshman First Team, and Top Drawer Soccer National Freshman Best XI First Team.
But, the individual accolades didn’t satisfy Lexi. She wanted the team to succeed. She wanted to celebrate team-centric awards with her teammates.
So, back to ‘The Factory’ Lexi and Derek went following Texas’ loss to then-No. 9 TCU on a goal with less seven minutes remaining in the finals of the 2021 Big 12 Soccer Championship. That result came in addition to dropping a 2-0 result to then-No. 25 SMU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2022 season brought 15 wins to the Longhorn résumé along with a Big 12 regular season championship. But a loss in the semifinals of the conference’s postseason tournament and a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament — both by 1-0 results — overshadowed Lexi leading all of Division I women’s soccer in assists per match (0.88) and breaking the program’s single-season assist record (15).
So, back to ‘The Factory’ for Lexi and Derek. 2023 had to be different. It’s why Lexi and teammate and life-long friend, Trinity Byars, broke the mold and signed to play at Texas over traditional women’s soccer powerhouses UCLA, Florida State, as well as Derek and Angela’s alma mater … UNC.
The duo wanted to prove The University of Texas deserved respect in the collegiate women’s soccer realm.
And it started in the spring.
Lexi was selected to the USWNT U-23 squad to compete in two matches at Clairefontaine against France’s U-23 WNT. A month later, the organization wanted her back to participate in the Thorns Preseason Tournament, a seven-day span that featured three matches against National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) teams in Portland.
The opportunity meant Lexi completed a USYNT Cycle by participating in 32 domestic camps and international events with U.S. Soccer teams stretching from U-14 to U-23.
Onto the fall.
Before the 2023 regular season even began, Lexi was a unanimous All-Big 12 selection, on the United Soccer Coaches Preseason National Watch List for midfielders and was selected to the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List … for the second consecutive season.
But how would she perform on the pitch?
Ha!
She began the season by setting a program record with at least one point in seven consecutive matches. She recorded two hat tricks within a four-match span and had already tied the program’s single-season assist record (15) within the program’s first seven matches of the season. (She was credited with 10 assists in a three-match, seven-day span.)
Playing for a program with a 30-year history, Lexi became the first student-athlete in program history to score 15 goals and be credited with 15 assists in the same season. She set the program’s single-season point total by match 15 and then broke the single-season goals mark three matches later. She also became the first student-athlete in program history to be named the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Week four times in the same season.
Career assist mark? Broken.
Career point mark? Shattered.
Single season points mark? Blown away.
Big 12 Midfielder of the Year.
Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player.
When the Big 12 announced its All-Big 12 selections for the 2023 season, there were only two unanimous selections: Trinity Byars and Lexi Missimo.
Oh yeah, and Lexi set the program’s single-season assist record … for the third consecutive season.
“I think Lexi had a lot to prove this season,” Derek said. “Last season, she was disappointed in herself. She was disappointed she missed a lot of matches due to injury and I think that really bothered her. God has a great way of teaching someone life lessons.”
Lexi is now the only active Division I women’s soccer student-athlete to score 40-or-more goals (44) and be credited with 50-or-more assists (51). She sits atop the NCAA’s active career points leaderboard (139), assists leaderboard (51), career points per match leaderboard (2.11) and assists per match leaderboard (0.77).
“I think Lexi had a lot to prove this season. Last season, she was disappointed in herself. She was disappointed she missed a lot of matches due to injury and I think that really bothered her. God has a great way of teaching someone life lessons.”Derek Missimo
It’s safe to say that Derek — along with his wife, Susan, who played collegiate soccer at TCU — passed down more than just their soccer attributes to Lexi. They also gave her their chisel and gouge and said, “Go carve your name into greatness.”
