Fountain Hills High School has been kryptonite to “Buddy Ball” the last two Mingus Union High School girls soccer seasons.
“We always go in figuring we’re going to win,” head coach Thomas “Buddy” Rhodes said
Feb. 3 after the Marauders’ ninth first-round playoff game in the past decade, a 3-0 shutout of Pueblo Magnet High School. “We didn’t count this one off and look at Fountain Hills.”
But the beat went on Saturday, Feb. 7, as the defending Division III champion Falcons ousted the sixth-seeded Marauders from the state tournament for the second straight season, 4-0.
“They’re a very, very tough team,” he said. “One of the best in the state.”
It was the third straight shutout for Mingus at the hands of Fountain Hills, as the Marauders could not break through with any more success than they did in a 1-0 loss to the Falcons in last year’s state semifinals.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Feb. 11, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
