As the calendar turns to January, the Sedona Scorpions’ soccer team looks to keep its momentum rolling into the new year.

After starting out the season with two ties, the Scorpions have won their last two matches and are clicking on both sides of the ball.

With eight matches in January, the Scorpions will have their mettle tested when the spring semester begins.

“Bringing on the new players and how they perform will be key to a successful January,” Sedona coach Sam Blom said.

Over Christmas break, the Scorpions will hammer down on the fundamentals to keep their momentum going.

“Those basics really help us in the game and you need to have those things like passing and trapping down naturally,” Blom said.

After having few reserves early on in the season, the Scorpions can now rotate multiple players in throughout the match.

“We have had a lot of games with one or two subs so we have to get our new players acclimated to the team,” Sedona coach Sam Blom said. “The rhythm changes with substitutions so that will be a challenge but it is great that we have depth.”

Sophomore Jaiah Grondin joined the Scorpions and will look to see time at defender.

“He is a solid player. I coached him when he was younger and he is probably one of the stronger defenders we have,” Blom said.
Sophomore Matt Capozzi also joined the Scorpions.

With the Scorpions newly-added depth, Sedona’s freshmen have more opportunities to develop.

“We have three or four freshmen that would start on a regular basis so they can develop their skills moving forward,” Blom said.
Sedona’s newer players are already beginning to mesh with the Scorpions’ veterans.

“The players know each other already from school so implementing them into the game plan has been smooth,”
Blom said.

Blom believes the Scorpions’ biggest strength is their communication skills and trust.

“Having trust in one another is critical to how far we want to advance this year,” Blom said. “The players know they can pass or drop instead of trying to take on multiple defenders.”

Passing has been key to the Scorpions’ offensive attack as Sedona is averaging 3.3 goals per match this season.

“It is one of the things we work on in every practice and our passing as a team has been very good recently,” Blom said.

So far, the Scorpions have outscored their opponents 13 to 10 this season.

Scorpions senior Clark Borjon has paced Sedona’s offense this season with seven goals and 15 points.

Fellow senior midfielder Elias Turnball has also contributed heavily to Sedona’s offense this year with three goals.

Freshman Kevin Castaneda has already made his impact on the field, having scored twice this season.

Sedona goalkeeper Andres Aguilar has accumulated 26 saves in three appearances including a penalty kick save.

The Scorpions will look to improve to 3-0-2 on Tuesday, Jan. 8, when the team hosts Scottsdale Christian Academy. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.