Although they each sport 2-5 records, the soccer teams at Cottonwood Middle School still have a shot at the postseason with four games to play.
After wins over Camp Verde and Rim Country middle schools, head coaches Mike Gilboy and Stacey Shelton will travel to Prescott Valley with their teams on Thursday, April 16. They will play Glassford Hill Middle School and stay in the hunt for the Quad City League semifinals and championships Saturday, May 2.
“We started out really slow,” Gilboy said. “The first couple games, it’s hard to know where everyone plays. Once you get them in position, they’ve been getting better and better all the time.”
Shelton felt her more experienced girls started strong, but will need help to get to the postseason.
“We’re working on our speed and our ballhandling the last couple games this season,” Shelton added. “We have four strikers up front, but they drop a little bit to help.”
With only 16 uniforms available for each team, Gilboy and Shelton had to cut 35 other CMS students before the season even started.
“Every little kid should be able to play,” Gilboy said. “It’s just really hard at this level — we don’t have the finances or competition.”
Then they have to further consolidate for coed games against the Oak Creek School and Mountain View Preparatory Academy. The Lobos are undefeated against their coed schedule, which will conclude at 4 p.m. against the Ocelots on Thursday, April 23, at CMS.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, April 15, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
