The Mingus Union High School girls soccer team started its season with an 8-0 victory against the Shadow Mountain Matadors on Dec. 2, and the team feels ready to face the rest of the season with optimism.
Defeating the Matadors is not new for the Marauders; last year, the team started its season by beating Shadow Mountain 12-0.
“I think we were really coming out with … confidence,” junior Jocelyn Ortega said. “I feel like we were already expecting the win, so we just strived for it.”
“I also think that, sometimes when we do play, we kind of shuffle down to the level,” junior Ashlynn Cooper said. “And I feel like we didn’t, and I also feel like everyone played as a team player.”
Over the summer, the athletes practiced twice a week — during the preseason the team’s focus was on fitness and cardio.
“Their fitness is night and day,” assistant coach Luke Brenard said. “Comparatively, it showed last night as well.”
The team is made up of a lot of the same players it was last season and only saw three seniors graduate last year. This year’s team has only one senior.
“We’re very junior, sophomore heavy this year,” Head Coach Christine Walter said. “We’ve added a few freshmen. I mean, that’s the point of a program every year to add … girls.”
Many of the athletes on this year’s team grew up playing soccer, and have been playing together for a long time in club soccer and other soccer teams outside of school.
“When these girls were talking about growing up together and like maturing, it’s really evident, comparing just even saying versus last year,” Brenard said.
Even in the span of the last year, several of the athletes feel improvement since then.
“Our strength-wise, our ability to just play,” junior Sophie Walter said.
“Definitely our endurance,” Ortega said. “I feel like we just kind of trust each other now.”
The girls all agreed they’re particularly looking forward to their games against the Flagstaff Eagles, the Coconino Panthers and the Prescott Badgers on Feb. 3, Jan. 20 and 13, respectively. Last year, the Marauders lost to Prescott 6-0 and Coconino 3-1, but beat Flagstaff 2-1.
The Badgers and Panthers were the Marauders’ only regular season losses last year, until its state playoff game against the Eastmark Firebirds, which ended with a 2-0 loss.
The team’s goals for this year include keeping the energy up and staying positive and self-improving the whole game.
“Switching the field, definitely,” Cooper added. “Being able to rock the ball to each side.”
Brenard said the support from the community meant a lot to the players and has helped to improve the athlete’s morale.
“This team is kind of the heart of this growing girls soccer culture in the Verde Valley, and there’s like a ripple effect in the sense that there’s a lot of upcoming players coming our way,” he said during the Marauders’ practice on Dec. 3. “The stands were full last night, like that was special. There was a celebration tunnel. There were kids playing around this whole place, the whole game, there was just a liveliness here.”
The team’s next home game is Thursday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. against the Agua Fria Owls.
Before then, the Marauders had an away game against the Moon Valley Rockets on Tuesday, Dec. 9, results coming after press time, and away games against the Estrella Foothills Wolves and the Barry Goldwater Bulldogs on Thursday and Monday, Dec. 11 and 15, respectively.
Results will be posted in a future story.
