Even before their first game, Sedona Red Rock High School’s girls soccer team knew that it was young. Not only that, but many of the young players are new to soccer, especially on the varsity level. With that, some rough games were expected. One of those games came on Saturday, Sept. 19 when they hosted Round Valley.
The visiting Elks struck early and often and led 4-1 at halftime. That onslaught continued in the second half, with Round Valley scoring five goals in the first 20 minutes. That caused the “mercy rule” that calls for games to be halted if, after 60 minutes, one team leads by six goals or more. With that, the Scorpions were on the wrong side of a 9-1 final.
The inexperience showed throughout the game. Sedona has only two seniors, Hannah Simpson and Bella Horton. And while Horton is a four-year varsity player, she’s also playing a new position as goalkeeper. Horton said she didn’t feel she played well but did make a number of saves and was often in good position. However, the goalie was also often outnumbered and couldn’t do much to keep the opposition from scoring.
“We’re just still really new in everything,” Horton said. “It’s honestly just getting our muscle memory down with everything we need to do. We had the same problems in the game on Thursday [a 3-2 loss to Payson]. We just worsened them in this one, I think.”
Coach Juan Carlos Aguilar agreed. Aguilar also pointed out that, since soccer had been a winter sport at SRRHS for a decade, that even the more experienced players on the team were out of their element in the heat.
“We definitely played against a great team,” he said. “It shows that we don’t have the experience in either fitness or stamina. We’re just lacking in that. And it’s 90 degrees out. These girls have never played in that type of heat. But no excuses; we have to keep working more.”
Another issue that showed in the heat was Sedona’s lack of numbers. The Scorpions’ roster features only 13 players, giving them a two-person bench. That left a number of players on the field throughout the game, with halftime being the only break.
The lack of experience and depth showed on offense, as well. Despite being a sophomore, Mayra Parra-Landaverde is one of the more experienced players on her team. Her opponents were well aware of her skill. Parra-Landaverde did get enough room to score her team’s lone goal but was often swarmed by multiple Round Valley players whenever the ball was on the Scorpions offensive side of the field.
Despite the lopsided loss, Sedona’s players found some positives. Simpson was encouraged by the spirit that her younger teammates showed, even as the game got out of hand.
“The girls who are young and never played before never give up,” Simpson said. “They keep going even if they don’t completely understand what’s going on. That’s what we need. We just need to keep doing it over and over and over again.”
The loss moved the Scorpions to 0-2. They moved to 0-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 22 with an 8-0 loss against Show Low.
Sedona’s next game will be on the road, with SRRHS traveling to take on Camp Verde on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Scorpions next home game will be on Thursday, Oct. 1, against Snowflake. Both games will start at 6 p.m.
