MHS girls soccer program aims to establish groundwork for success

The Maricopa High School girls soccer team will be looking to show steady improvement throughout the upcoming season.

“I’m at this point building a foundation, because I’m new and a lot of our players are ninth-graders and tenth-graders,” said head coach Art Groves, who is in his first year leading the girls team after serving as an assistant for the MHS boys squad during the previous two seasons. “So I really hope that when we all come back next year, we have some wins and some great experience.”

The Rams will be led by defender Karissa Browning, a returning starter who is the team’s only senior.

Also back from last season’s varsity are defender Shannon Duffy, midfielder/defender Cara O’Neal, midfielder Alex Thompson and defender Farah Hill-Garcia, all of whom are juniors.
Returning players Michelle Potter (a forward), Ashleigh March (goalkeeper), Destini McCabe and Yaneli Gasca lead a talented sophomore class that also features Kristin Lintz and midfielder Jozlyn French.

Jessica Beach and forward Nattaly Campos are among the freshmen who will be looking to contribute to the varsity.

“We have a lot of small, fast forwards,” Groves said. “I think that’s good on the offensive side. A lot of our offensive players are the younger players, and a lot of our defensive players are older players. The defense has experience, and the offense has speed.”

The Rams will open the season at home against Flagstaff on Nov. 30. Maricopa’s regular-season schedule also features Class 4A-II East Sky Region home games against Gilbert Higley (on Dec. 10), Phoenix Arcadia (Jan. 7), Gilbert Williams Field (Jan. 11) and Tempe (Jan. 21).