Hard Work Pays Off with Great Results for Destiny Soccer Team

by Anna Bernard
Arcata, CA

The Girl’s U17 Destiny Soccer team (MRYSL) went undefeated on the first weekend of play in the 2007 Southern Oregon Classic Spring League. The Saturday April 14^th game against the Grants Pass United team ended in a 1-1 tie. The Sunday April 15^th game against the Basin United U16’s resulted in a 4-0 win for the Destiny!

There are many “behind the scenes” activities that take place prior to soccer games and field preparation is one of them. There was a scramble to prepare the soccer fields for the first weekend of play in the Southern Oregon Classic Spring League. With seven MRYSL teams playing in the 2007 Spring League all possible fields were needed. Coach Joe Homem put forth a great effort to prepare the Big Lagoon School soccer field for the weekend games. The grass was so long that it took several rounds of mowing to get the grass low enough for marking and play. The Destiny’s first game took place at Big Lagoon School on Saturday and thanks to Coach Joe they enjoyed a great playing experience. The Sunnybrae Middle School field was the location of the Destiny’s Sunday game. The school maintenance staff mowed the field just before the rain came at week’s end. The drainage at this field is poor and there were large puddles at both goals and potholes that threaten player’s ankles. So, parent volunteers repaired the worst of the holes by bailing buckets of water from the holes and filing them with soil. A crew of about parent volunteers measured and marked the field for play. Let the games begin.

In the 2006 Southern Oregon Spring League the MRYSL U16 Girls ended the season with 4 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. Coach Nick Parker is looking for even better results in the 2007 season. The home game meant a short trip to Big Lagoon School, for the Destiny players. The Grant’s Pass team had to travel almost 3 hours to the Saturday game in Big Lagoon. Destiny’s forward Tara Boynton scored the Destiny’s only goal of the game. The Grants Pass United team answered with one goal of their own during the first half of the game. The Destiny’s defense and goalie were able to keep the second half of the game scoreless as did the Grants Pass United team. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Coach Nick Parker was disappointed that his team did not come away with a win in the first game of the season.

On Sunday at Sunnybrae Middle School Coach Nick Parker saw his team’s efforts pay off with their first win of the 2007 season. “I was concerned during the first 15 minutes of the game because the team started out slowly, but something magical happened and they picked up the pace and were suddenly in complete control.” Said Parker. “It definitely became “easy” when it became a passing game.” Said Nick Parker. The defenders and mid fielders were able to control the ball well and make accurate passes. This certainly contributed to the successful outcome of the game. The Destiny’s defense and goalie Selina Bernard got their long awaited shut out. “The Destiny’s sweeper, Carlyn Girard led the defensive efforts and was one of the stars of the game” said Coach Parker. The wind was against the team for the entire game but there were some great goal kicks by defender Darcy Gordon. The Basin United U16 team could not break through the Destiny’s defense to score. The Destiny’s mid fielders and forwards passed the ball well and maintained good positioning on the field. This allowed them to set up plays that enabled shooter Tara Boynton to score 4 goals. “Young Julia Middlemiss kept up with the older player and had some shining moments.” Said Coach Nick Parker. The final score of Sunday’s game was a 4-0 win for the Destiny.

The Destiny is looking forward to meeting these teams on their own turf in the Medford, Oregon area over the next few weeks. The first road trip to Oregon will take place on April 21^st and 22^nd when the Destiny will face the RVSC Mystic of Rogue Valley and the Ashland Grizzettes.