The boys soccer team had a bumpy start after losing their first two season games to Brophy and Desert Mountain. Along with racking up a combined 12 goals against in those games, senior Pearson Wallace received a red card against Brophy and had to sit out during the Desert Mountain game.

Coach Brian Crayon added, “We struggled to have confidence in ourselves and what we were doing. We lost a player to a red card early on and it is difficult to recover from that.”

The team began to work out the kinks in the Coyote Classic Tournament. The team came out swinging by beating Mesa 4-0 and South Mountain 4-2. Lead scorers were senior Parker Rex with five goals and senior Nico Digne with two.

Captain Joe Osterkamp explained, “We are doing better at communicating and working as a team as well as finishing. It helps when we are able to put away our chances on goal.”

The Pumas had secured their position in the playoff bracket despite their loss to Corona on Friday night. However, the tournament’s playoffs run on a single elimination basis and the Pumas were eliminated early after a 3-1 loss to Chandler on Saturday.

Captain Pearson Wallace commented, “Despite the outcome I thought we were starting to play better as a team. Our team chemistry is improving which will benefit us during our season games.”

All hope is not lost as it is fairly early in the season. Also, the schedule is looking lighter in the future as the team has already played some of the top teams in the conference. The boys hope to learn what they can from the Coyote Classic and move forward with heads held high.