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Skyline High School Girls Soccer Team Wraps Up Successful Season

Nov 05, 2015 03:34PM ● By Bryan Scott

By Sarah Almond

Not many high school girls can say they went nearly undefeated in a competitive soccer season. But the Skyline girls soccer team can. With only one loss to Murray in overtime, the Eagles won 16 games to become the highest scoring team in the state. They’ve scored more than 93 goals in this season alone, are ranked number 222 in the nation, and have clenched the 6th rank in the state. 

“It’s really been an incredible season,” Head Coach Yamil Castillo said. “And we have Holly Daugirda, who is the all-time leading scorer for the entire 4A division. And the third leading scorer in the state is Emma Heyn.” 

Senior captain Daguirda was recently invited to train with the U.S. Women’s National Team and has committed to play for the University of Utah in 2016. Senior captain Heyn is the only senior who’s been named as All-State Academic and will be recognized for her accomplishments during the state finals. 

“It is a big deal, making the All-State Academics,” Castillo said. “These are great achievements for our team.” 

With the team’s only loss coming in overtime to Murray High School, the girls are more driven than ever to make it to the state championships. As many teams can relate, this loss came during a week when the players weren’t firing on all cylinders. 

“That was the week that we had a slump,” Castillo said. “But it was a good wake-up call and it made us ready to go. One thing that we have to our advantage is that have been in tight situations in the playoffs before; we’ve been in the semifinals, we’ve been in the finals and we have experience with that. It helps to calm the nerves a little bit.” 

For the past six years, the Skyline girls soccer program has yet to lose during a quarterfinals or finals game that they’ve hosted at home. The group has also been named region champions in five of the past six years. 

“Not a lot of high schools can say they go to the playoffs every year or finish first,” Castillo said. “It’s a very competitive program and the girls play up to that. They know if you’re going to play at Skyline, you have to come prepared to accomplish the highest goals you can accomplish.” 

The group started practicing in May, after holding tryouts where only five of the 20 girls trying out made the team. Though the competition on the team is cutthroat, it’s what the players want because every girl will practice and play to their utmost potential. 

“One thing that I take a lot of pride in, especially this year, is that this group of girls has amazing chemistry,” Castillo said. 

For the past three years, Castillo has been ingraining into his players one simple motto: T.R.Y., or Take Responsibility Yourself. According to Castillo, this acronym has prevented the team from suffering the drama of “primadonnas” and has embedded his team with a deep, mutual respect for one another. 

“When you have these key elements, everything is possible,” Castillo said. “The moment something becomes too personal, the team element goes away, and that’s not good.” 

Though the team has had much success on the field this season, they’ve had to face several challenges, largely in the form of injuries. Between broken ankles, sprained knees and pulled muscles, it’s taken many of the Eagles players most of the season to rebound from setbacks, but Castillo is confident in the girls’ ability to succeed in playoffs. 

“This year has been a really emotional, really great experience,” Castillo said. “I’ve coached at Skyline for four years and the support this year from the administration, the community and the parents has been amazing. I’m blessed with a team full of a lot of talent, and the talent from these girls makes me look good as a coach.” 

The final round of the state tournament was held at Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday, Oct. 23. 2015.