Eight seasons of playing with Dolls comes to an end

The Louisiana Tech soccer team has spent the last eight seasons playing with dolls.

No, not Barbie and Ken. That would be Madison and Elizabeth Doll.

Madison Doll was racing past opponents up the flanks from 2013-16. Elizabeth Doll followed immediately after, slide tackling on the back line from 2017-21.

Before the two sisters were Lady Techsters, solely focused on the pitch, they were growing up on North Woodlake Way in Pearl River, playing every game imaginable. “We grew up in a great neighborhood,” said Madison Doll, better known as Madda. “We were very active kids. It was always very competitive and a fun environment. We were always running around the neighborhood.”

“We all had decent size yards so playing sports in the yard was a big thing,” said Elizabeth Doll, better known as Lizzie. “We all had people our age. The boys in the neighborhood were my age. That is why I was always playing tackle football or basketball.”

Along with playing the norms like football, basketball, softball and soccer, there was kickball, corn hole, street hockey, rip-stick soccer. Wait, rip-stick soccer?

“It is a cross between a skateboard and a snowboard,” explained Madison Doll. “We would leave the ball in the street and you would have to use the rip-stick to kick the ball around.”

The cul-de-sac was a popular location for these games. That’s where the cabbage ball and whiffle ball games would go down.

“We went through this stage of whiffle ball so my neighbor built a miniature whiffle ball field so we had home run derbies and stuff,” said Elizabeth Doll. “The cul-de-sac was the place to be. It was really fun, but it was also super competitive.”

As Madison and Elizabeth grew older, their sporting activities began to narrow. Soccer was a top choice, as well as track and softball.

“I always wanted to play college sports,” said Madison Doll. “Through high school, people thought track was my top sport. I had this falling out with my coach though because he did not like that I was playing travel soccer and coming back all bruised up. From that point on, it was my sole goal to prove him wrong and play college soccer.”

Madison, a 2016 First Team Conference USA All-Academic Team selection, switched back and forth between outside defender and striker. he played in 79 career games, totaling 5,642 minutes with six goals and six assists to her credit.

Lizzie, a three-time All-Conference USA honoree, played center back all four years while also being a primary target on set pieces. She saw action in 67 career games with 5,419 minutes played, amassing nine goals and six assists. Tech’s overall record during this stretch of Doll’s – 97-49-17. The program qualified for the C-USA Tournament six times, making three semifinal appearances.

The Doll soccer era began on Aug. 23, 2013 and ended on April 10, 2021. Meaning, a Doll was on the team in eight of the program’s 17 years of existence. Needless to say, the duo is a huge part of Tech soccer history.

It became so normal spotting a Doll on the soccer field because for eight consecutive seasons, it was a Doll that donned the No. 6 jersey. Now, it will be a very strange experience seeing someone else wear that number for the 2021 season and beyond.