It took a little while for the Camp Verde High School girls soccer team to shake off its long bus ride to Holbrook High School but eventually pulled away for a 5-1 win on Thursday, Aug. 31.
The Cowboys [1-0] scored first through Jocelyn Fitzgerald, but later allowed the Roadrunners to even the game up. From there though, it was all Cowboys.
“Overall I feel like we played pretty good,” Camp Verde head coach Javier Pineda said. “After [the opening goal] they tied it, and we woke up and started to play how we want to.”
Pineda wants his team to be a strong passing team, with the players passing the ball and then moving to open new passing lanes.
They did that well, for the most part, he said. The more the team passes and moves, the more the defense opens up.
While the Cowboys put five past the Roadrunners, Pineda still wants his team to move the ball faster. When they do not have the ball he would have liked to see more pressure from his front line players.
Once they get the ball he wants them to transition faster. Since it’s the first game of the season, there is time to improve.
Lupa Orta scored the Cowboys’ second before a pair of basketball teammates, Tyra Smith and Tanna Decker, linked up for a goal. That goal came from a corner kick that Smith put in with her first touch. Smith assisted on Fitzgerald’s goal.
Amanda Lozanilla scored the fourth, assisted by Alex Scheffer and Brina Church scored a penalty kick for the final tally.
The starters played strong, but what Pineda liked most from the team was that when the substitutes entered the game the level of play was maintained.
Camp Verde had its home opener against St. Johns High School on Saturday, Sept. 2, but results were unavailable at press time. It next plays at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12 at home against Page High School.
