By Don Ketchum

Perched at the top spot on the Class 4A Division II girls soccer power-points list suits Flagstaff’s Eagles just fine.

They were No. 1 entering the week of Monday, Jan. 10. They are enjoying themselves and vow to do everything they can to maintain that spot by winning a state title.

“The season has been building for us,’’ said Flagstaff coach David Meyers. “We have clicked nicely. The girls like each other and they work together well.’’

Flagstaff was 7-1 in power-points games and 9-3 overall entering the new week.

Meyers said that playing some top Class 5A teams in the (Mesa) Dobson tournament allowed his team to get better. Flagstaff lost to Chandler Hamilton on a shootout in the championship game.

The team has a controlled possession approach, and that has served the Eagles well. It has a good mix of seniors and younger players.

The team has four seniors. Two of those are defender Diane Buzzard and goalkeeper Kylie Dean.

Buzzard started playing soccer around the age of 11 “and I loved it more than any other (sport).’’

She did play Pee Wee football, believe it or not, playing as a tight end.

Even though she had played other sports, soccer was different.

“I had never done much, using my feet a lot,’’ she said. “I was kind of clumsy, didn’t have control of the ball.’’

As she adjusted, her comfort level and intensity picked up.

Now, Buzzard says, her team has good intensity from the opening moments of the match.

“We want to use our speed to set the tone of the match in the first five minutes,’’ she said. “We come in mentally prepared and go to our possession game.’’

She said the season “has been awesome so far. There’s no tension between us. We are such a family and it translates into how we play. We always seem to know what each other is going to do and how to set each other up.’’

Off-the-field activities include going to movies and going to pasta parties hosted by parents.

Buzzard enjoys academics. Math is her favorite subject and she is on target to be the valedictorian in a class of about 430. She has committed to play soccer at Northern Arizona University, where she will study neuroscience.

Early in her career, Dean tried playing other positions, then tried being a goalkeeper when there was no one else to play the position.

“I stepped in and did pretty well and I have loved it ever since,’’ she said. “I love to be the last person out there when the ball is coming, trying to keep the other team from scoring.’’

She also played basketball, and that helped with her hand-eye coordination.

She likes “the power dive, just diving through the air.’’

As the ball is moving in her direction, she tries to analyze all the defenders and figure out what they might do. Usually she is correct.

“I trust my defenders,’’ said Dean, who has given up just one goal during the regular season.

Part of the success of the defense is communication between the players. Dean admits that she sometimes talks too much.

“Sometimes they (teammates) will say, “Katie, be quiet.’ Well, I see everything that goes on in front of me and I’m just trying to help out. If one of them doesn’t know an opponent is near them, I say, “Right shoulder, right shoulder,’ letting them know where they are.’’

Dean has participated in the All-Stars program in Flagstaff, where student-athletes are selected to attend a retreat each year, relaying leadership qualities to younger kids and using those skills in the correct way.

She has committed to play for Mesa Community College, but first she wants to win a state title.

“We have to make sure that we don’t let anything silly happen,’’ she said. “One silly mistake can lead to a goal. You have to be tough, not just physically but mentally. You have to be ready for anything.’’