Greetings. Here in Utah the soccer playoffs have begun. The Judge Memorial Bulldogs face a difficult task of returning to the State Championship game. Last year we were runner-ups to Park City (who are currently ranked number 12 in the country). We were State Champs in 2002 and 2003. Park City are the heavy favorites this year, they are led by a midfielder who is on the U-19 national team.
This year has been rougher than the last few. Three starters have gone down with season ending ACL injuries. Our second leading scorer broke her arm last week, and her doctor’s say she’s done for the year. Natalie has been plattooned at center mid, forward or outside mid…and it’s been difficult for her to win a starting spot despite the injuries. The head coach has started a youth movement, the freshman and sophomores are in many cases as good or better than the upper classmen. Last night Nats played about half the game…where her great passing skills were on display in our first round victory (5 to 1 over Millard). But this weekend we travel five hours to St. George for our quarterfinal matchup against an unbeated Dixie squad. Two more wins and we make it to the finals, which would mean a likely rematch with the hated Park City team.
We’ll keep you posted.