Coaches Haig and Haig Waste No Time in Girls’ Soccer

By Robby Bracker
Dunn student journalist

Dunn’s Girls’ Soccer team began the season with new names on the roster, but their strong play so far reminds observers of successful teams of the past. So far the girls have a record of 3-3. The beginning of the season started with a lot of conditioning drills. Coaches Barbara Haig and Willy Haig are having the girls run drill after drill. The coaches are as physically active as the girls and can often be seen running while calling out “run for your life” or “if you want to do it in a game you have to do it on this field”!

The girls’ soccer team won their first two games of the year against Orcutt. The team won their second game against Orcutt on January 10th winning by a score of 4-1. Janaya Reid, a key player, scored a goal and commented that the team felt confident throughout the game, and especially in the first quarter where they were winning by a score of 2-0. Areli Diosdado, a Junior, compared this year’s team to last year’s when she commented, “we don’t have as many players, but we’re more experienced.” The coaches are not one bit intimated by the number of fewer players; Coach Willy Haig said most of the girls are “keen and experienced when the key to soccer is experience”.

Coach Barbara Haig said “We have a smaller pool of players this season. This, of course, makes games tough since we have fewer substitutes that can be used in high-pressure Condor League competitions or when injuries happen. The more experienced players on the team are showing great leadership and are working tremendously hard in training as well as in games to try to compensate for the team's short-comings. At this point in the season, our record is about the same as this time last year: 3 and 3 with no ties”.

Last season the team was also extremely successful where they ended up qualifying for California Interscholastic Federation. The team decided not to go since they only had about 13 players. The most memorable game last year was against Thatcher, with Dunn defeating them for the first time in 10 years. Other achievements included the winning of the Munger Cup against Midland.

This year however they were defeated by Thatcher, but remain an enthusiastic group of people who seem to constantly be cheering and pushing themselves for a successful season. Junior Maddie Sexton, a sweeper on the team said she is “looking forward to the rest of the season”. Georgia Arnautou, a Freshman, said “I am confident that my skills will improve over the year”. While still early in the season, Coach Willy Haig says “it looks good like a team with experienced players, who show promise in the future!” Their next game is away this Saturday against San Luis Obispo.