After losing in the second round of the playoffs last season, the Salida High School girls soccer team is determined to make even more progress this year, team leaders said.
Many of the seniors on the team have been playing since their freshman year, and many of the freshmen have been playing the game most of their lives, senior Eva Capozza said. “The freshmen are very talented,” senior Jurz Anti said.
“We are a very strong team in terms of our understanding of soccer,'' Coach Capozza said. Even with new team members, “You can see the flow and the connections building even from people who haven't played together before.”
This year, Capozza said the team is aiming to advance further in the playoffs. “We want to be in the championship game. … I think it's pretty achievable if we put in the right amount of effort and work together,” she said. Other team leaders also agreed that they could at least make more progress than last year.
Last season, “I actually had my best performance since I started playing in high school,” Capozza said. “We made it to the second round of the playoffs and pushed hard to get it.”
To reach this year's goals, senior Hayden Bebbington said the team will have to “continue to show up every practice and work hard every practice.” “We're all going to work harder,” Anti said.
Coach Capozza said the team has a strong offense with both shooting and speed, and so far they are communicating well. All those interviewed agreed that the current team's strength is defense.
“Our coaches often point out one thing we're trying to improve on every practice,” Bebbington said. In addition to a strong defense, this team has girls who have speed and know how to use width, she said.
Senior Lulu Zettler said she enjoys the team and the camaraderie aspect of the sport the most. “It’s really nice to see everyone being so supportive of the newcomers,” she said.
Zettler said he has ideas for changing to a more offensive formation this season. She tried a 4-3-3 formation in a scoreless scrimmage against Buena Vista, and “everything turned out well,” she said.
“Soccer gets you in the groove right away,” said freshman Skya Gorby, who joined the team from club soccer. “She's only been here for two weeks and we've been able to work together,” she said. “You can see all of our special qualities on display.”
So far, Gorby said the team is learning that they have a “really good connection…When we play together, they're always very positive and very supportive…I'm very excited to form new bonds.” I'm doing it,” he said.
3A Tri-Peaks League
atlas preparation
james irwin
Manitou Springs
Salida
Woodland Park
list
Senior
Jurz Ansh
Hayden Bebbington
Eva Capozza
grace mcfarland
hannah wilson
Kaia Wright
Lulu Zettler
junior
carly bainbridge
ryan baker
trinity bertolino
ruby bischoff
Megan Devenport
Elle Farnsworth
Izzy Hughes
Killiana Hunter
chloe kelly
macie matthews
Shia merchant
2nd grade
cooper fisher
braeden johnson
Stella Zettler
new student
emerson bradford
melody clarke
Skya Golby
sophie haynes
june hamilton
Cali Keast
Kayla Lee
regan osnes
schedule
Date and time Opponent location
March 26th TBA Crested Butte Secondary Crested Butte
March 28th 4pm Vail Mountain Away
April 2nd 4:30pm Delta Salida High School
April 4th TBA Bayfield Away
April 61:00 pm Lake County High School Lake County
April 11th TBA Cañon City High School Cañon City
April 13th 10am Rye High School Rye
April 16th TBA Atlas preparation Atlas preparation
April 18th 4:30pm Buena Vista Salida High School
April 22nd 4:30pm Colorado Springs Christian Salida High School
April 25th 6:30pm Woodland Park Woodland Park
April 30th 4:30pm James Irwin Charter Salida High School
May 4th 11am Manitou Springs High School Salida High School