Ever optimistic, Sedona Red Rock High School head boys soccer coach Cindy Hauserman doesn’t shy away from referencing Forrest Gump after a 2-0 start.

“High school soccer is like a box of chocolates,” she said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”

After seeing her team score 13 goals in those first two road wins, however, Hauserman has a better idea of what to expect than Robert Zemeckis’ wide-eyed cinematic everyman.

“We have some very skillful players, and we have good chemistry on this team,” she said. “It’s often hard to predict our opponent’s game, so we intend to focus on our game, be well-prepared and set the tone early.”

A lesson the Scorpions had to learn Dec. 2, during their season-opening 6-5 win over Veritas Preparatory Academy, as they had no preseason scrimmage and not even a junior varsity to scrimmage against.

“We were rusty,” Hauserman said. “Our first game was a real eye-opener, being our first test full-field, under pressure.”

Senior striker Francisco Hernandez, nicknamed “Paco,” is a three-year starter at forward, and showed no rust against the Falcons, scoring the first of his four goals for the Scorpions in the first minute of action.

“He is a top finisher, hungry for goal[s],” Hauserman said. “‘Paco’ has a personal goal of beating the school record for most goals scored in a season.”

Hernandez’s second goal came three minutes later, recording a hat trick by the 15th minute of the first half from team assist leader Jesus “Chuy” Estudillo.

“Chuy’s vision and ability to read the game makes him quite a playmaker at center mid[fielder],” Hauserman said of the senior. “We learned a lot about ourselves in that game.”

After tightening up loose ends with regards to discipline, confidence and trust, Hauserman said the team approached a 7-0 shutout of Phoenix Christian High School with a much better mindset Tuesday, Dec. 8.

“Phoenix Christian was a little easier than Veritas, but they put up a good fight,” she said. “Our team defense was much more organized and confident and we were able to confine much of the game to half a field.”

Estudillo and Hernandez dominated the Cougars with three assists and five goals, respectively.

Sophomore Julian Travaglia added two goals, while senior midfielders Jerson Mendoza and Jordan Rivera also had assists.

“Against Phoenix Christian, we had more time and space to move the ball effectively,” Hauserman said. “We train five days a week. We’ve got a nice core group of experienced players.”

Although Hauserman is always taking the season one game at a time, she looks forward to having three games Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 and 12, to fine-tune the team in the Coyotes Classic at Arizona Lutheran Academy.

“Because we are a small school … we didn’t get the full size, high pressure, game-like conditions we could recreate with a JV squad to scrimmage in the preseason,” she said. “So we are looking forward to our upcoming tournament where we can train under high pressure with friendly games.”

For the full tournament schedule, please see the Friday, Dec. 11, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.