By Chris Moffitt
This is the best soccer season TPA has ever had. It is as simple as that. A team that had most of its players come straight from a football field has evolved into the No. 3 team in the state for Division 4 soccer. With a never-before-seen 12-1 record, we are going to Playoffs!
So many new TPA records have been set by this team. This is the first time TPA Varsity Soccer has ever made it to the state playoffs, and the first time any team in Tempe Prep history has ended a season with 12 wins.
Obviously, such success has really impacted our players. Senior Captain Connor Woltz perhaps puts it the most subliminally, saying that the team’s accomplishments “fill me with immense pride, knowing that many, many years from now, when I have children of my own, they will be able to look back onto this TPA soccer team and say, you know, my dad was a part of that.”
Connor, however, is not simply a “part” of the team; he leads the team and the state of Arizona in goals scored. Beginning the season by averaging three goals a game and ending it by scoring in the first seven seconds of a game, Woltz now leads the state with 31 total goals. His energy and skill have been an irreplaceable foundation for the team’s success. But when asked about it, he humbly says, “It’s no big deal. It’s not about me; it’s all about the rest of the team.”
And he is right. This hasn’t been a one-man team. One thing that Coach Potter has enjoyed most about this season is “watching how everyone has performed and developed — not just our top players, but everyone from top to bottom.” In fact Coach believes that the game against Veritas was the “turning point in our season because, even though we were missing nine players — four of whom were starters — everyone stepped up and found a way to win. When the game was tied in overtime, a freshman, Tyler Woodroffe, stepped up as a goalie to save a PK kick and literally save our season.” Junior Jacob Matsumoto summarizes this team-centered season, saying, “We’ve really grown together and gotten to work together, and it’s just been a pleasure.”
Coach also attributes much of the team’s success to how they play “with a chip on their shoulder.” The memory of last season, when the team was denied a running in the playoffs at the last moment, still remains fresh in the minds of most of the players. Because of this, they did anything to not let that happen again. Senior Captain Jacob Brown stepped up to play a position he had never before played and led the back line. Junior Captain Jacob Cryder battled through injury to play goalie when Senior Captain Nick Bellavia was out with a concussion. Overall, Coach Potter says, “no matter the injury, no matter the twist to our season, we always find a way to adapt.”
Looking ahead to Playoffs, Coach says, “Division 4 playoffs is completely different than Division 3 because there is no single dominant team. Anyone can beat anyone. State is wide open to whoever brings their A-game.” Well, the Knights are ready to bring their A-game and give everything they have. Nick Bellavia says it best: “All these teams better prepare, we are coming for them.”