Head Coach Thomas “Buddy” Rhodes had senior Haley Backus, sophomore Martina Bueno and many others to thank for his girls soccer players handing Scottsdale Christian High School its first sectional loss, 3-2, Thursday, Jan. 16, to remain undefeated in 2014.
Tournament records and the playoff points system, though, were not two of them.
“Point-wise, you’re better off playing a weak team you can beat than a stronger team,” he said before the Marauders’ home double-overtime victory over the Eagles, their fourth win in a row. “We go in tournaments with big teams rather than smaller teams. You don’t get better playing smaller teams.”
Because of that philosophy, in fact, Rhodes does not even factor tournament wins or losses into the Marauders’ overall record.
“Two out of our three losses were in overtime,” he said.
So, while MUHS has gone 7-8-1 through one of the toughest first 16 games of any girls soccer team in Division III, current playoff seedings as well as Section I standings have the Marauders at 5-3, behind Scottsdale Christian and Scottsdale Prep — who the Marauders also beat 2-0 on
Jan. 9 behind goals by Bueno and Backus.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Jan. 22, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
