Girls Soccer: Chasing Perfection

Every season, at least one or more girls soccer teams flirt with stringing together a a perfect season record at some point.

Achieving that perfection is a difficult task. Remaining unbeaten and untied from start to finish requires that a team navigate a variety of circumstances — be it tough opponents, bad weather, key injuries or just plain old luck — that any given team must deal with in a season.

We are at about the season’s halfway point and a total of five teams have not yet accumulated a tie or loss. (For those 2A schools who are 0-0-0 because they have not yet played a game — Sorry. I’m not counting you in this list. You actually have to play a game first.)

Here is a breakdown of those teams without a loss or tie below.

Brighton:

Record – 7-0-0.
Reasons for being unbeaten – In a word: defense. The Bengals are not the flashiest team on the offensive end. But you don’t need to be when your defense has allowed exactly three goals all season and hasn’t allowed more than a single goal in any game.
Potential winning streak buster – Alta. Sweeping the Hawks would be a near impossible feat. The Bengals are talented enough to force a series split, but don’t expect them to win both games with the three-time defending 5A champs.

East:

Record – 9-0-0.
Reasons for being unbeaten – The Leopards have incredible balance on both sides of the ball. They can overwhelm opponents with an explosive offense, but also have a strong enough defense to win low-scoring battles.
Potential winning streak busters – Woods Cross, Bountiful. East battled down to the wire to snatch results from the Wildcats and the Braves on the road. With their talent and depth, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see either team do the same on the Leopards’ home field.

Mountain Crest:

Record – 5-0-0.
Reasons for being unbeaten – The Mustangs have a knack for winning close games. That kind of poise late in matches can’t be discounted during the grind of the regular season and playoffs.
Potential winning streak buster – Bonneville. The Mustangs look good. But it would be a tall task to claim a result from the defending 4A champs in both of their regular season matches.

Judge Memorial:

Record – 6-0-0.
Reasons for being unbeaten – The Bulldogs have a nice mix of talented underclassmen and veteran leadership still left over from their state title winning team from a couple years back.
Potential winning streak buster – Juan Diego. This rivalry matchup could also serve as a preview of this year’s 3A title game. Both teams are heads and shoulders above the bulk of their 3A rivals at this point. As it stands, expect at least a split in the series.

Rowland Hall:

Record – 2-0-0.
Reasons for being unbeaten – The Winged Lions are on the list, simply because they have played only a couple of games.
Potential winning streak busters – Waterford and St. Joseph. You can bank on the Winged Lions losing at some point to both teams. The Ravens and Jayhawks are more talented, more experienced and fresh off successful state title runs from a year ago.

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