Longtime Head Coach Dave Miller said in the preseason the Cowboys’ success would depend on how good a start the boys got in the first two weeks of the season.
How does 4-2 sound?
The Camp Verde High School boys soccer team recorded its fourth straight shutout Friday, Sept. 9, defeating Grand Canyon High School, 2-0.
“I think we’ve had really solid goal-keeping to begin our season,” Miller said. “The defense always comes around first at this time of year. We’re playing well.”
The Cowboys recorded 29 total shots, 12 of which were on goal in the 2-0 victory.
In the eighth minute, sophomore Jesse Alvey scored to put his Cowboys up 1-0. In the second half, junior Justin Reay scored in the 49th minute, putting Camp Verde up for good, 2-0.
Sophomore goalkeeper Andy Woodward recorded six saves in the first half, but was removed at halftime due to minor illness, according to Miller.
Senior captain Michael Cassillas took over for Woodward, but was fairly bored most of the second half due to Camp Verde’s domination offensively in the second 40 minutes of play.
“They had a pretty big goalkeeper, and we just couldn’t finish the ball, not unlike the Thunderbird match the day before,” Miller said.
On Thursday, Sept. 8, Camp Verde hosted Thunderbird Adventist Academy, winning 2-0. Alvey again scored a goal for the Cowboys on the far post in the first half while senior Andres Orellana scored the second goal in the 70th minute.
Camp Verde began the season with a pair of losses to Desert Christian [3-0] and Blue Ridge [2-1] high schools at the Chino Cup Invitational on Sept. 2.
Since the second day of the tournament, however, Camp Verde hasn’t lost. The Cowboys shut out Chino Valley High School, 1-0, and beat Grand Canyon, 1-0, to start their consecutive shutout streak.
Next up, Camp Verde is scheduled to travel to Phoenix Country Day School on Thursday, Sept. 15, with an official start time of 6 p.m.
The next home match for the Cowboys is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 20, against Northland Preparatory Academy.
