Victoria Sousa, 12, of Bristol, died unexpectedly on Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The daughter of Cathy and Louis Sousa, she was born in Providence on July 1, 1997.

Victoria was in the seventh grade at St. Philomena’s School in Portsmouth, where she was on the school’s soccer, basketball and cross country teams. A gifted athlete, Victoria began playing soccer in the Bristol Youth Soccer Association when she was five years old. She had played with the town’s traveling team for the last four years, winning the Rhode Island state championships in 2008.

Her team went on to win the prestigious “Super Liga” in 2008 and 2009. Her winning team was introduced at Gillette Stadium during a New England Revolution game. In 2009, Victoria was selected to join the Rhode Island Olympic Developmental Soccer Program. “She floated when she ran; she was beautiful to watch,” remembered her uncle, David Sousa.

Victoria was chosen to be Little Miss Fourth of July in 2006. “She loved the Fourth of July,” her father remarked, “especially here at this house.” Victoria was also a member of the Bristol Yacht Club and participated in the junior sailing program for several years. She cruised with her family on their Pearson 35 Sophie from the age of six months, when she made her first passage to Dutch Harbor in Jamestown.

Besides her parents, Victoria leaves her sisters, Marguerite and Emily; paternal grandmother, Mary Sousa of Bristol; maternal grandparents, Dolores and David Splaine of East Greenwich; and great-grandmother, Dolores Quinn of Warwick.

A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 330 Wood St. in Bristol. Calling hours will be held Friday Oct. 30 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Smith Funeral and Memorial Services, 8 Schoolhouse Road, Warren. Online condolences can be shared at www.celebratewithsmith.com. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the “Victoria Sousa Fund,” c/o BankNewport, 330 County Road, Barrington, RI 02806.