Rebuilding may be easier than expected
The Marauder soccer team spring training has begun. Last year’s women’s soccer team’s miraculous odyssey is over and it's time to add a few new faces to the roster.
Fresh off the most successful season in program history — which included shattered records and a first-ever playoff berth — they find themselves in a rebuilding stage with seven returners from last season.
“You’re lucky to get six or seven core players back from the year before,” said Jerry Stupar, AVC’s head coach and last year’s Coach of the Year.
After a record of 12-7-1 his first year, he followed up with a 16-3 record. “We’ve had two years with quality numbers,” he said. “Last year we went 16-3, that’s very difficult to do.”
Stupar finds himself in a very familiar situation. After losing 11 prominent sophomores, he has a predominantly freshman team.
In his first year — with no recruiting whatsoever — his mostly freshman team stunned the league. From an early look, he’s certainly satisfied.
“We have potential to be close as strong on the defense, maybe not as strong, but an opportunity to be more offensive minded,” he said, comparing last year’s team to this year’s possible team.
After last season’s success and some hand-picked recruiting, who knows what kind of team Stupar will conduct for this upcoming season.
Spring Sprouts
There is a significant difference between last year's and this year’s spring training. “The number of returning players versus the numbers of bodies,” Stupar said referring to the large number of newcomers participating training.
Why now?
The noise the Marauder soccer team made last year definitely gained them some recognition and respect and has attracted some local talent. AVC has possibly become the designated favorite over colleges, such as Taft College and College of the Canyons.
A major change has come from seniors that are freshman. In other words, high school seniors who are due to graduate by the time AVC's spring semester is over and will be official AVC freshman for fall are participating in the collegiate-level spring training.
And they are loaded with phenomenal talent. “We have a very strong incoming freshman class,” Stupar said.
- Beatrice Giles, a current senior at Lancaster High School, dribbles the ball during a drill. A solid forward, she is what the Marauders significantly lacked all last season.
This year coach Stupar has invited some of last year’s sophomores to come and join the training sessions. Such names include last year’s Runner-Up Player of the Year Shannon Cox, First Team All-Conference defensive stars Chelsea Porter and Thannia Huerta, Honorable Mention midfielder Lauren “Mississippi” Miszklevitz, Adri Ruiz and Valerie Arciga.
A key attribute that was missed from the team all last season was the forward position. There are several forwards trying out now and Stupar is vying to keep them. Stupar’s remarkable rotating system kept the Marauders alive.
Certain coaches play a certain way — he plays a system according to the players he has. Quality players and quality people make them coachable.
Players like Denise Perez and Rosana Reyes supported Stupar’s system — both emerging from the bench to successfully fill in roles for the absent starters and making Second Team All-Conference.
Attempt to fill Void
Among the returners are: Breanna Dundes, Danielle Skidmore, Rosana Reyes, Rebecca Milian, Vanessa Guzzetti, Julia Celebron and red-shirting sophomore Monica Parra.
Perhaps the most uncertainty lies in front of the net. The best goalie in conference last year, Thannia Huerta, has protégés Breanna Dundes and Danielle Skidmore to presumably pick up where she left off.
But there is a third counterpart who is eager to play — Adriana Aguilar. Her academic scholarship at Fresno State University entitled her to perform strictly toward academics. So she came to AVC just to play soccer.
- Adriana Aguilar is hungry for the starting goalkeeper spot. Here she is in a practice drill.
Others striving for starting positions are Rosana Reyes and Rebecca Milian. Last year during a shortage in the roster, Reyes rose to the occasion and delivered solid performances. Rebecca Milian was the only roster player to be rotated in last season’s playoff game and was voted Most Improved by the team — this has propelled her to work harder for a starting spot.
Vanessa Guzzetti, Julia Celebron and Monica Parra are very unfamiliar to the turf. Seeing little or no playing time last year, spring training is the perfect opprotunity for them to be aggressive.
“This is what spring is for,” Parra said. Another uncertainty is defense. A survival tool for last year’s team, Stupar reminds everyone that it should not be a concern.
“Defense has always been my philosophy,” Stupar said. “I already have some quality players that are in the program. We have the potential to be strong in the back.”
Where and When?
Team training is held on the soccer field (grass) Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they are removed from the divots of the natural grass and hold their session at Marauder Stadium (FieldTurf), same times as Mondays and Wednesdays.
After hitting the field be prepared for an hour of hitting the weights in the gym everyday after training, Room 120. The times and days for spring training go on until the last school day for spring — when the summer term begins, June 14, the new times are 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
“Be prepared to train Monday through Thursday in the mornings,” Stupar said.
Also, anyone who wants to try out for the team should enroll in the one unit summer class ‘Advanced Soccer Techniques’ which just so happens to be instructed by Stupar. “Anyone who wants to try out for the team should enroll in the class,” he said.
No one should be discouraged from attending the fun, competitive nature that Stupar encourages.
- Photos and story by Donjai Richardson
