VYPE - In a Determined State

Western Arkansas

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Thursday, May 1, 2008

In a Determined State

Western Arkansas, AR

By: Bob Kelly

Fayetteville girls soccer team loves simply having a chance to compete for state title

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After a year off, simply playing in the state tournament this season has been a treat for the Fayetteville girls’ soccer team. At press time, the Lady Bulldogs had secured a first-round bye even before the regular season was completed.
“We felt like we were definitely one of the top teams last year,” said Fayetteville coach Samir Haj. “I think that even though we graduated some seniors, the kids were very determine to prove that we are a good team and we belong.
Understanding the determination of the Lady Bulldogs to make a run deep into the playoffs in a quest for the state championship is easy. One merely needs to look at the end of last year’s season.
The Lady Dawgs were 12-2 for the regular season with a pair of wins over eventual state champion Bentonville and had secured the second seed in last year’s tournament. Many felt the Lady Dawgs had a great chance to bring home the title. But an eligibility issue over one of the players reared its ugly head and when the brouhaha was over, so was the season.
Many players would have lived their remaining careers with frustration heavy on their minds. Not this bunch of scrappers. Instead they rededicated themselves to excellence, practiced even harder and waited for this season. Many played in additional leagues through the summer, some traveling as far as Little Rock to play in preparation for this year’s season.
“We were all very disappointed we missed out last year,” Haj said.
Haj, a fixture of Fayetteville soccer “for more years than I might like to remember,” is proud of his team’s work and dedication and once his Lady Bulldogs are all healthy, feels this team has an outstanding chance to make a run at the championship.
“We have a very balanced team this year, with three or four terrific seniors balanced by some very talented freshmen. In the middle are some very good sophomores and juniors who are helping us greatly while some of the others are coming back from injuries. In 30 years of coaching soccer, I may have seen four ACL knee injuries in the last 10 years,” coach Haj pointed out. “Right now, we are dealing with the final rehabilitation sessions of three in the past year.
“Elizabeth Trumbo, who had suffered an ACL injury last year, is back and is our goalkeeper and Karen Sosa is another senior leader, a very technical player who has played at this level since ninth grade. Lexxa Kever, who plays mostly defensive midfielder for us is a third senior and is joined by Abbie Graupner, who has returned from a high ankle sprain injury. Brooke Overby and Sara Corral are juniors who have fought back from injuries as well.
Haj knows the ingredients are there. “We have some exceptionally talented players on this year’s team, and I believe that many of them will eventually play college soccer. They have the talent to play at the next level, and coaching them is a very easy thing,” he said. “Seven or eight of the starting 11 players on the team play year-round soccer of one type or another. It makes a big difference because they know so much better where to be, how to play, where to go, how to defend and how to score. They just have another level of experience and knowledge.
“The best thing is that they want to learn, they have the dedication and courage to play hard all the time and they want to play for the championship. They feel they should have had that chance last year and want to make up for it this season.”

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