As the temperature dipped toward freezing Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Sedona Red Rock High School stadium, the number of players available to girls soccer head coach Juan Carlos Aguilar dipped even more sharply.
It was all Aguilar could do to get 11 of his varsity players to exchange postgame handshakes, then exit the field under their own power following the Scorpions’ 7-0 defeat to Northwest Christian High School — their second straight loss.
“They’re my boys,” he quipped. “They fight.”
Then he picked up junior defender Naomi Garcia, unable to walk after her right ankle was injured with five minutes remaining during the Crusaders’ final goal, and carried her to her parents’ waiting car.
With Northwest Christian ranked third in the state and up three goals by halftime, the Scorpions’ goal was less a win and more to avoid a repeat of the injury bug that reduced SRRHS to 11 players the final five games of the season.
“Beginning of January, every time,” assistant coach Will Geurts said after the loss. “When you’re not even 11 deep, it’s hard to miss four or five starters. We’ve done everything we can think of so it doesn’t happen.”
For the full story, please see the Friday, Jan. 16, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.
