Brophy, Casteel, Salpointe look to repeat
The 2021-22 high school soccer season is almost fully underway, so here are a few teams which look to contend for the state titles in their respective divisions this year.
6A: New era for defending champ Brophy
The 2021-22 winter high school soccer season gets underway in full the week of Nov. 29. Here is a preview of teams that could contend among boys' teams this season in various conferences:
6A
The dynastic powerhouse in the 6A division, the Brophy Broncos, enter their 2021-22 season as defending champions. However, they are missing a key piece of their most recent championship dynasty, their head coach, Paul Allen.
Allen announced his resignation this past summer, after leading the 2020-21 Broncos to an overall record of 14-1-2, and a 6A state title in which Brophy defeated the San Luis Sidewinders 3-2. He coached the Broncos for a total of five years from 2016 to 2021, taking his squad to four 6A championship games, winning three state titles.
George Archuleta, former coach at Sandra Day O'Connor, was hired to take the helm at Brophy.
Archuleta takes over a program that has won a total of 10 state titles.
“Is there a little bit of pressure? Sure, I’m a human being..., but it’s a positive kind of pressure, where I’m excited for the challenge,” Archuleta said.
The Broncos will be without Charlie Cobb, 6A’s leader in points during the 2020-21 season, after he was a part of a class of 12 seniors that graduated.
“Obviously we lost quite a few of the seniors, but we're blessed with having a really strong program,” Archuleta said.
Brophy enters the 2021-22 season with a roster of 12 seniors, 12 juniors, and one sophomore, including senior Jack Brown, and junior Chase Jackson, who
Archuleta listed as players will serve as key players on his team during the upcoming season.
San Luis, located in the U.S.-Mexico border community of the same name south of Yuma, was one of the best stories in high school sports last season. The Sidewinders finished the season with a record of 12-1, and ranked as the No. 9 team in the nation according to USA TODAY’s United Soccer Coaches Super 25.
“They’re really motivated, '' San Luis head coach Jesus Rojas said about his team.
“Getting to the championship game, it showed them what they’re capable of. Maybe it was something they didn’t believe in before, maybe before last year it was something like a dream, but after they saw how the final went, a tie game until the penalty kicks, it could have been anybody’s game and that showed them that it is possible.”
The Sidewinders have six starters from their magical 2020-21 season return this year, highlighted by junior Erik Quirarte, who was the Sidewinders Player of the Year for the past two seasons.
5A
The defending 5A champion Casteel Colts finished last season with a record
of 16-1, beating out Ironwood in the title game 8-2 to claim the school’s first state championship.
Casteel senior forward Ethan Calimpong is one of 16 seniors returning to the field for one more season at Casteel. Calimpong finished last season as the team's leader in goals, recording 23. Calimpong also notched four assists on the season.
Ironwood enters their new season without six of it’s seniors from last year's runner-up team, including Adrian Sanchez, who also recorded 23 goals for his team.
Another team to look out for during the new soccer season is Campo Verde, which went to the state title game three of the last five years, last winning it in 2018. The Coyotes finished their 202021 run with a record of 12-3-1, losing to Ironwood in the quarterfinals.
4A
Last year, Salpointe Catholic took the 4A state title, beating out Walden Grove 5-1. Salpointe Catholic ended the season undefeated, going 14-0-1.
The Lancers only lost six seniors from last year's championship team, and will have a few key returners in sophomore midfielder Adrian Franks, and senior defender Sergio Ruiz De Chavez, both of whom recorded seven goals last season.
Wolfgang Weber, who first became Salpointe’s head coach in 1982, returns as the Lancers leader for his 40th season. Weber looks to claim his program's 9th state title during the 2021-22 season.
The head coach that Weber outdueled in last year’s championship game, Ryan Atkinson of Walden Grove, has high expectations for his team prior to the upcoming season.
“I think that that run that we had last year was special, and I think going forward, that’s kind of the minimum we expect for this program,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson has two key returners in junior Jared Garcia, and junior Joseph Miranda, both of whom were key parts in Walden Grove’s title game run.
3A
American Leadership Academy Gilbert North was undoubtedly the best team in 3A last year.
The Eagles went undefeated on the season, 16-0, defeating Phoenix Country Day in the state title game 3-2.
Senior Justin Provenzano will return for the Eagles during the 2021-22 season, and will look to have another bigtime year, after recording 31 goals, and 19 assists for his team last season.
Phoenix Country Day, the runnerups to American Leadership-GN in 2021, also have an important returner to their team: Speed Gregory.
He recorded 41 goals, in a season in which his team went 13-3.
Just behind Gregory was Eli Brayboy, who Phoenix Country Day Head Coach Andy Rodin sees playing an important role on his team this season.
“(Brayboy) does whatever he needs to do. Some days it’s more defensive, some days it's more attacking,” Rodin said.
“He’s just really strong, and talented, and just loaded with charisma.”
One final team to keep an eye on in the 3A division this year is Northwest Christian.
The Crusaders finished with a record of 13-1-1, winning the 3A Northwest section in 2021, but ended up falling to Phoenix Country Day in the quarterfinals.