With only one senior starter, it stands to reason that the St. Paul's School for Girls varsity soccer team sometimes displays more lapses than a veteran team normally would.

Yet the Gators always know, no matter how they fare on the field, their most ardent fans — Tricia O'Neill, Tim Mullin and their daughter, Kylie O'Neill-Mullin — will be there for them.

Perhaps that's because the Lutherville family knows what it's like to receive so much support. Giving it back to the team seems only right.

Besides, backing the Gators was something they always did when Tim and Tricia's youngest daughter, Cameron O'Neill-Mullin, was a key member of defensive group, also known as the "D-Unit".

That all changed on April 5 when Cameron, then 16 and an exchange student visiting St. Hilda's School in Australia, was one of two teens killed in a freak boating accident near Brisbane.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the outpouring of love from the St. Paul's Schools community, neighbors, friends and Cameron's former teammates has helped the family deal as best it could with their loss. The school year was capped with a memorial service in June, attended by scores of students, faculty and friends.

Now that a new school year has begun, staying involved with Cameron's team has become a family pastime for Mullin, a partner in the litigation department of the Miles and Stockbridge law firm, and Kylie O'Neill-Mullin, a sophomore at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

For O'Neill, it's more of a passion than a pastime. She attends as many games as possible, heaping words of encouragement on head coach Don Keener, assistant coach Rosina Ciattei and the players.

But she doesn't limit her appearances on the Brooklandville campus to athletic events.

O'Neill, who is a member of the school's board of trustees, makes it a habit of attending as many school events as possible, even scaling back her work hours to fit in concerts, plays and art exhibits into a busy schedule.

When it comes to sports, she's the No. 1 fan in the hearts of St. Paul's players.

Senior Natalie Drake said the team's mourning has been made "a lot easier" by having O'Neill rooting for the Gators.

"But sometimes it chokes me up, just knowing how strong she is," Drake said.

For her part, O'Neill understands what her presence can mean to the team.

"I'm older, so I have all these tools to help me deal with (Cameron's death)," said O'Neill, who works as an assistant vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maryland Baltimore. "Those kids don't have any of that. But they can look at me and say, 'if Cameron's mom can do it, so can I.'

"I text and Facebook chat with a number of other girls on the team, starters and bench players," she said. "Although they did lose Cameron as a teammate, I am determined to continue to be there supporting the team and the coaches, just as she would be if she were physically able."

Like daughter, like mom

If her mother's presence has more of an intangible benefit to the Gators this season, Cameron's presence was very real.

At 5-feet,10-inches and 145 pounds of kinetic energy, she had a major impact on the back line last fall as a sophomore.

As many rivals discovered, vying with Cameron for what is known in soccer parlance as a "50-50" ball (a chance for two or more competitors to gain possession), was not for the faint of heart.

"We have pictures of Cameron just knocking some poor girl to the turf," her mother said. "Tim loves that in the photo. The ref isn't even making a move to get his whistle to his mouth. It was fair play on a 50-50 ball."

Yet Cameron could influence a game with more than a physical style. Other skills also served her well.

Just ask Nick Gill, coach of the soccer team at Friends School, whose Quakers were beaten in an Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference match last season when Cameron scored the game's only goal.

"She outworked our defenders into the box on a corner kick in the first minute of overtime, and slotted the ball nicely to the corner," Gill said. "She was a very talented defender that was great in the air. She was an extremely hard worker and displayed tremendous leadership for only being a sophomore."

Off the field, Cameron was a gregarious kid with lots of friends from different schools, public and private.

"One of the wonderful things about continuing to go to games has been the love and hugs from the parents and players who are friends on the opposing team," O'Neill said. "It's been a real joy to see how many lives she touched."

One of those most affected by Cameron's loss is Keener.

"Losing her takes away a lot of what we like to do," he said. "When you see a 140-pound kid coming at you, if you only weigh 112, it might make you hesitate a little — and that might give us the opening we need. You just can't replace a kid like that."

Cameron approached her non-athletic pursuits with the same gusto, according to Keener.

"I told the girls the day it happened, 'If I could do half of what she did in her 16 years, I'd be happy,' " said Keener. "She was a kid who lived her life to the fullest, appreciated what she had and, dammit, made a difference."

Readout …

'One of the wonderful things about continuing to go to games has been the love and hugs from the parents and players who are friends on the opposing team. It's been a real joy to see how many lives she touched.'

Tricia O'Neill, mother of Cameron O'Neill-Mullin