All last week, the PCHS soccer players met on their home field for conditioning and team building.
Coach Matt Fuller and Eva Matuszyk were mindful of the late summer's heat. The girls met early in the morning for a couple of hours and came back in the evening for more.
Soon, six freshmen will play their first high school games. They include Kimberley Trowbridge, Yasmin Acosta, Lily Anderson, Grace Kalsem, Kim Hinds and Diana Pineda. They'll join sophomores Miya Gallagher, Rylee Renfroe and Mikayla Leavitt. Gallagher, Renfroe and Leavitt are returners.
Six juniors are back for another season of the challenging sport. They are Hannah Gonzalez, Tavis Hunt, Cora Trowbridge, Lex Chandler, Jillian Bridges and Riley Soliman.
Kendall Macedo the junior manager will tie up all the loose ends.
The PCHS coaches look to their senior players for leadership. Kylee Fuller and Anna Jimenez are ready to fill the role.
Fuller has developed and excelled as a center midfielder. She sees the game well and advances plays with her passes.
Last season, Jimenez worked hard to turn the ball up field, advancing it to the forwards. Meanwhile, Rylee Renfroe focused on her defensive skills. In April 21, she and Fuller made second Team All- Conference.
The team pulled off 27 goals and finished 5-4-1 in a hotly competitive league. They ended the season minus a couple of girls, so they played the last few games without substitutions.
“Our girls had to be conditioned enough to play for 80 minutes,” said Fuller. “They never used it as an excuse not to play hard or for any of their losses. They adapted well.”
The soccer team hosts a home tournament next weekend, Friday and Saturday Aug. 27- 28. Then they take to the road for a string of away games against White Pine (Sept. 10), West Wendover (Sept. 11) and North Tahoe (Sept. 17).
They'll play their first home game on Saturday, Sept. 18, against the Incline Highlanders. It starts at 10 a.m.
