Sedona Red Rock High School overwhelmed its first Division IV, Section I boys soccer opponent with six goals from senior striker Francisco “Paco” Hernandez.
Those turned out to be just half of a 12-1 barrage of on a cold, wet, new SRRHS field Tuesday, Jan. 5.
“The Odyssey game was a great ice breaker for the new semester,” head coach Cindy Hauserman said. “We had an opportunity to play on the new surface and continue to develop our playing style, all the while building our team chemistry.”
While Hernandez embarked on his rare double hat trick with an unassisted goal seven minutes into the game, senior Jesus Dominguez and sophomore Julian Travaglia teamed up with Hernandez on three consecutive goals 15 minutes later, each less than a minute apart, to bury the Buckeye charter school’s chances.
“Our dynamic duo … kept Odyssey’s back third of the field hopping,” Hauserman said. “We settled in pretty quickly. Our passing game looked crisper and our midfield did well combining and moving the ball in a fluid fashion.”
Senior goalkeeper Corbin Pulido had a shutout of the Minotaurs for 60 minutes in his first start, only allowing two shots on goal and allowing senior Daniel Ruiz to play center defender.
“The team defending game is building,” Hauserman said, “and we are successfully developing our speed, communication and organization.”
The Scorpions’ reserves allowed a lone Minotaurs goal at the 77-minute mark after Hauserman emptied her bench with 20 minutes to go, pulling out Pulido “to thaw his hands.”
“Daniel … captained that back line like the veteran he is,” Hauserman added. “He and Pulido have strong voices and are key to organizing the team.”
Travaglia booted in the Scorpions’ seventh goal of the half less than a minute before halftime and added the 11th goal for SRRHS with seven minutes to play, making his hat trick unassisted.
“Jesus ‘Dom’ Dominguez, Travaglia and Hernandez all got key assists,” Hauserman said. “We have firepower in our midfield, too.”
That was where seniors Jerson Mendoza and Jesus “Chuy” Estudillo came in, Hauserman added, scoring unassisted “excellent” second-half goals with five and 25 minutes to play, respectively.
Sophomore midfielder Justin Wassell followed up Hernandez’s opening goal nine minutes later with an unassisted one of his own in the first half.
Only five SRRHS goals needed help off the pass, even though the Scorpions had more than double the passes of the Minotaurs.
“Our team attacking game is really coming along,” Hauserman said. “It’s so dynamic and free, and we have a lot of speed this year.”
After another home tilt with “competitive” Coolidge High School at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, Hauserman will have one more shot to experiment with that speed on the attack Saturday, Jan. 9, when they take on Horizon Honors High School at home in their last non-sectional matchup. Scores for the Coolidge game were not available by press time.
“Every game we play, whether sectional or not, has a bearing on our overall power points,” she said. “We intend to keep developing as the season progresses.
“We play total football, so all players should be able to defend well and attack well, no matter what their position on the field. We are finding the areas on the field where our athletes can have their greatest effect on the game. The key is to get everybody where they can shine the most.”
That three-game homestand ends with the Scorpions’ first sectional road test Tuesday, Jan. 12, at Bourgade Catholic High School.
“We play one game at a time, each game equally important, each game asking that we play our best together,” Hauserman said. “We intend to be prepared for every game and we intend to set the tone for every game, whether home or away.”
For more photos, please see the Friday, Jan. 8, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
