SOCCER: Salpointe girls win first match of the Brandon Bean Tournament
November 28, 2016 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365
(Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)
The Salpointe girls are coming back from an incredible run that ended with a Division II runner-up finish and an impressive 23-2 record. All coaches dream big things when a season starts but Becky Freeman never really had a feeling that team would do as well as they did. It was a game-by-game ripple that eventually turned into a strong current that almost carried the team home.
“We never really felt that would be the team it was from the beginning,” Freeman said. “We knew early on we would have to play every game and win every game, even when we got to the playoffs.”
The wins kept coming and coming for the Lancers with their only loss coming against Sahuaro at the Walden Grove Invitational. It was a loss the team would avenge in the D-II quarterfinals. Then, a victory over Ironwood Ridge in the semifinal round, sent them to the final against a powerful Notre Dame squad where the Lancers came up short, 1-0.
“This team believes in themselves and their expectations of what they expect from themselves is higher,” Freemen explained on what she sees from her 2016-17 team. “It started out in how they did preseason fitness and they all did what was best for themselves to be competitive and succeed.”
The Lancers took on Flowing Wells Monday in the opening day of the Brandon Bean Invitational and came away with a 3-0 victory. The win might be the first of another string of victories but at least we will see it coming this year.
Salpointe 3, Flowing Wells 0
13th Minute: Sydney Lenhart (unassisted)
49th Minute: Kalista Kakou (unassisted)
50th Minute: Kate Connelly (unassisted)
Freeman was a standout defender at Salpointe during her high school days before she went on to play for the University of Arizona. Her Wildcat teammate was none other than current Flowing Wells head coach Alex Davis. Davis was a standout midfielder for the Caballeros in high school.
Davis led Flowing Wells to a D-III playoff appearance last year and she will attempt to do the same in the very competitive Sonoran Region of the 5A Conference this winter. Salpointe will be competing in the 4A Conference.
The Brandon Bean Invitational is held every year to honor a former Salpointe player who passed away in 1992 after an on-field collision at a soccer scrimmage. In addition, the tournament also honors former Salpointe girl’s player Laura Kea who died in an auto accident on her way to a soccer tournament.