Notes on several girls soccer teams in 1st round of state

January 29, 2013 by Jose Garcia, AZPreps365


The state soccer tournaments for girls kicks off Tuesday. 

To prepare you for the opening round, below is a smorgasbord of notes on several teams. To view the scheduel for the games go here

Division I

Boulder Creek: Dangerous team starts only three seniors and one junior. … Junior goalkeeper Megan Strang has allowed only seven goals in 19 games. … Sophomore MF Kyle Escobedo leads team with 17 goals. … Sophomore center back Angela Boyle and senior Kaitlyn Lare the defensive anchors.

Chaparral: Program has won three state championships and reached the playoffs every year with 18-year coach Robyn Carlson at the helm. … Leading goal scorers are Lea McDaniel (team’s leading scorer since stepping on campus as freshman) and freshman Alicia Jamison with 13 goals each. Chloe Hiatt has 12. … Team had a lot of injuries this year and played a tough schedule. … Won Horizon High’s tourney. … Senior Katie Clemmons, sophomore Maggie Clemmons, junior Taryn Bentler and senior Dani Muniz are team’s leaders on defense.

Corona del Sol: Team has 11 seniors, who as freshman were part of the state finals as a No. 15 seed, the lowest girls seed to ever make the finals.  ... This year’s team won the 300th  game in program history (overall record of 307-99-31). ... This year’s playoff appearance is the school’s 19th in 20 years, including three state championship seasons (95-96, 05-06, 06-07).

Desert Vista: Team is 42-4 under second-year coach Marvin Hypolite. … Team’s leading scorer is freshman Tatum Heeres (11 goals, nine assists). … Team mourned the loss of a player’s mother this season. … Team has 13 shutouts in 21 matches and had given up nine goals as of Jan. 23. … Midfield has 53 assists, offense 76 goals.

Highland: Senior forward Ashley Hatch leads teams with 39 goals, and senior midfielder Jaden DeGracie has team-high 39 assists. … Team has scored 49 set piece goals and outscored opponents 92-17.

Kofa: Team’s leading goal scorers are sophomore Leticia Casillas (19 goals) and  freshman Cinthya Sameniego (17). Junior Abigail Rosales has 22 assists. … Team lost one of its key defenders, Maria Lopez, this season. … Second consecutive year team went undefeated vs. Yuma area opponents. … Defense has given up only four goals. … Midfield has 41 goals. … This is the third time in five seasons that team has reached postseason under coach Marisela Velasquez.

Marana Mt. View: Justene Kesterson has 102 career goals, including 30 this season. … Team has 13 seniors on the roster. … Team lost a couple of key defenders to injuries.

Millennium: Has reached the postseason every year under 10-year coach John Shalongo.

Perry: Tough defeats, having two different head coaches and three different assistant coaches and just missing out in reaching the playoffs last year motivated this year’s senior class. … Team has not lost by more than one goal and only given up five goals. … Team has depth in the midfield. … Young forwards play beyond their years. … Senior goalkeeper Samantha DeMarcos “has been a stud ever since she stepped on the pitch her freshman year.”

Red Mountain: Sydney Schroeder leads team with 15 goal. … Team lost its senior captain on the first day of tryouts.

Willow Canyon: Jessica Barton has scored 16 goals in 16 games. … Beat Mountain Ridge and Centennial for the first time in the program’s history. … Team has scored 66 goals, twenty more than last year.

Xavier: Senior Michaela Dooley leads team with 20 goals. … Team suffered plenty of injuries this year and lost a talented player who transferred.

Division II

Agua Fria: Taylor Layton has 117 career goals, including 40 this year. … Won Copper Canyon tournament after beating a good Willow Canyon team in the final. … Midfielders Celeste Ritchie and Alexa Brown tend to be in the middle of everything.

Apollo: Freshman Daniela Fonseca has scored a school single season record 36 goals. …  Five of the team’s seniors will play at local community colleges. … Defense gave up only three goals in power ranked games. … Former Apollo assistant Amanda Wright took over the program this season.

Arcadia: First-year coach Adamo Zweiback was in Cambodia doing volunteer work, but will be at today’s game. … Team’s leading scorer is sophomore Mega Hawkins (28 goals in 14 games), but a handful of other players, including Anna Workman and Maddy Schneider, have each scored at least six goals. … A couple of key players have recovered from injuries suffered during the club season. … Team dresses 12 juniors, six seniors, one sophomore. … Junior goalkeeper Abby Schneider and defense allowed only one goal in 10 power ranked games.

Catalina Foothills: Forwards Aleah Strength, Aminah Settles and Emily Parker each have more than 15 goals. … Team replaced entire midfield this season. … Averaging four goals per game. … Team has won six titles in the past 10 seasons.

Liberty: Team has five players headed to junior colleges next season.

Raymond S. Kellis: Team reached state semis last year after four consecutive first round playoff losses. … Junior Kylee Taylor has 16 goals, 15 assists. … Team suffered a handful of injuries this season.

Marana: Sophomore Destiny Derevage leads team with 13 goals. … Senior Caitlin Ward has eight assists. … Beat Canyon del Oro for the first time. … Team lost entire midfield after last season, but Brianna Martinez, Carly Merritt, Ariella Schneider, Hannah Laulusa, Taylor McLeod and Callie Weiss have stepped in nicely. … Team scored 86 goals, surrendered 17. … Defensive leaders are Cheyenne Smith, Sadie Ballard, Audie Gonzales, Ashlyn Florence, goalkeeper Mason Howard.

Sabino: Program’s all-time scoring leader Shannon Shields suffered a broken vertebrae. … Team suffered several other injuries throughout the year. … When healthy, Sabino is one of the best team’s regardless of classification.

Sahuarita: Sophomore Taylor McClelland has scored 50 goals. … Team didn't skip a beat when Emily Bliven took over as defensive leader this season.

Sahuaro: Team has reached playoffs 14 times under 15-year coach Dave Kruscewski. … Senior Anyssa Dagnino leads team with 20 goals. …. Sophomore Allison Raniere has nine goals and 17 assists.

Sunrise Mountain: Brylee Hawkins leads team with 23 goals. … “One of our goals every year is to create a family type atmosphere where we function as a cohesive unit and constantly support one another on and off the field,” coach said. “We have been successful in accomplishing this throughout this season.”

Division III

Campo Verde: Senior Breanna Olsen leads team with 19 goals, 14 assists. Freshman Lauren Crenshaw has 11 goals, five assists. … Team has outscored opponents 98-10 in 22 games. … Beat five D-I team in two big tournaments. … Junior Meg McDowell has 11 goals, nine assists. … Four of the team’s seniors might play in college next year.

Higley: Team has several players who can score. … Had nine new varsity players and eight new starters this year. … Team has scored 84 goals, allowed only seven. … Coach John Roberts returned this year for the first time since 2006, when team went undefeated and won a state title.

Phoenix Country Day: Walker Tuton was leading the team with seven goals but didn’t play the entire second half of the season due to an injury. … But junior Margaret Lonki and sophomore Remi Edwards have scored a combined 24 goals. … “We aren’t the biggest, fastest or strongest team, but our back line plays very smart and fundamentally sound soccer,” coach said. “Junior Saira Purewal has been a standout in goal.”

Mingus: Team lost top forward, Gabi Guerrero, and most experienced defender, Alex Pee, because of knee injuries. … Team’s underclassmen have stepped in to fill the void as much as possible. … Nataly Escamillo has done a good job of controlling several games.

Fountain Hills: Leah Carillo leads team with 13 goals. … Concussions kept three players out during different stretches in the season. … Coach Alison Mabery and assistant Kiersten Dallstream are in their first year leading the program.

Cactus: Ashley Duran was leading the team with 36 goals. … Most of the starters have been playing with injuries. … But defender Katie Cuthbertson has done a good job of shutting down opponents’ scoring opportunities. … Defensive midfield Sophia Curiel also playing well on defense and making timely passes to set up scoring chances. … Attacking midfielder Carlie Macy has helped the team score more this year. ... Team’s captains are Jennifer Douthitt, Nikki Griffith and Alysa McCormick.

Williams Field: Rianna Poarch and Madison Smith each had 11 goals. … Team was 1-4 at point in the season but seniors stepped up to help the team reach the playoffs. … Team is playing best soccer despite starting four freshmen.