Regular season soccer has officially ended on the High Desert. Two very different programs are standing on top.
For the boys, the Summit Storm, a well-established winning program with a new head coach, are the Intermountain Conference Champions.
“They look out for the underclassmen,” said head coach Tom Bunnell. “They look out for the program. Super respectful to me. They’re, you know, as far as I can see, they’re very respectful on the field, and it’s just you just don’t get that, you know, And I’ve been around it long enough to know that this is a special group.”
On the other side of town, the Caldera girls are celebrating their first senior night and becoming IMC champs for the first time in school history.
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“My gosh,” said Caldera senior Elsie Wilson. “It’s so special. With the relationships we’ve made. It’s just, like, very full circle.”
“We’re a unique group that’s been together for three years and has not had seniors leave before,” said senior Maddie Ringer. “So this is just such an unusual and exciting and scary thing.”
When it comes to the playoffs, whether it’s an experienced program seeking another first place trophy or a focused group of girls ready to make school history, both teams are prepared to perform.
“We just have to be humble but confident and eager to win everything, everything that’s in our way, just to run through it with as much intensity as possible,” said Summit senior Fernando Espinosa.
“Just game-by-game. Focus on each opponent at a time and keep our focus and head in the right place,” said Wilson.
“I think we just need to go into it knowing that any game could be our last and play our hardest and have fun,” said Ringer.
Interestingly, the boys and girls teams for both Caldera and Summit played against their counterparts in the final game of the regular season Wednesday.
The Caldera girls came back and won 2-1 over the Lady Storm after giving up the game’s first goal. They finished the regular season with an 11-1-3 record, ranked No. 2 in the state.
The Summit boys defeated Caldera 5-1 and remain ranked at No. 3 in 5A with an 11-1-3 record.
