ROANOKE, Va. – Two years ago, I went out to the soccer fields at Riverside to preview a special group of girls heading to the President’s Cup Nationals with Valley United. One of those girls was Scottie Leonard.
Scottie and her teammates ended up winning the national title that year, and have taken that experience to high school, where they are now freshman, playing a part in getting Cave Spring soccer to their first-ever state appearance.
“We had that pressure put on us at Nationals, so I feel like we’re more comfortable now going into states like this because we’ve been in that position before. So, I think it’s a good feeling. We’re excited, very pumped for this,” Leonard said.
It’s the perfect storm of high-stakes competition experience, an encouraging and confident leader in first-year head coach Erin Smith, and the veteran pieces to the puzzle.
On Friday, they hoisted their first Region title trophy the girls soccer program has ever seen after a win in PK’s. Coincidentally, that’s how the Valley United girls won their National Championship.
Chemistry — the most important part of any team — cannot be underestimated at Cave Spring.
“I’ve played with the ‘09 girls for five years now, I think we’re all really close, we play together really well,” Gabriella Carnevali said.
They say that true leaders lead with their actions not their words, that’s what all those freshman have done, showed each other, showed themselves, showed the rest of the team that that’s what it is going to take to really get far in a varsity season if they don’t have the experience like that,” said Head Coach Erin Smith.