Mustangs Girls Soccer: 'We've Got Some Wins on the Horizon'

 

Although it’s impossible to know exactly how the Lucerne Valley Girls Varsity soccer team’s 2022-23 season will unfold, Coach Leah Paddack believes it’s going to be a special one with continued growth, learning and, hopefully, some W’s. 

 

That assessment comes thanks to several key factors: a number of veteran players returning along with several 9th-graders who played Middle School soccer last year.

 

“We have quite a few veteran players,” she says. “We’re shaping up.” 

 

But the coach, who is the lead 5th grade teacher at Lucerne Valley Elementary School, also points to the addition of Jacob Capps, the assistant coach of both the boys and girls teams. A 2015 graduate of Oak Hills High School, Coach Capps was a forward on a successful Bulldogs team and brings a welcome energy.

 

“He brings a lot of great information,” Coach Paddack says. “He also brings a lot of intensity.”

 

Coach Paddack also has experience. She played club soccer growing up in the High Desert and has coached in Lucerne Valley for several seasons.

 

The girls team also ready has showed toughness practicing in Lucerne Valley’s sometimes unpredictable weather. They worked on their drills during a recent preseason wind storm that saw wind gusts of around 50 mph.

“It’s an outside sport,” she says.

 

There are several outstanding Lady Mustang players who have already demonstrated they have the skill to lead the team. Serving as captains for the team are Zoey Davis, Alexa Orozco, and Tatiana Raybon.  “We’re missing Kayden (Davis),” Coach Paddack says. “She was a captain.” (LVHS student athletes Kayden Davis and Kristy Klaus were killed in a traffic collision this past spring.)

 

Judging from how things have gone preseason this year could be a breakout year for the girls. “I feel pretty good about the season. We’re working on our passing game and setting up our offense and defense. Last year was a foundational year. This year we’re expanding our play. I’m excited. We got some wins on the horizon. I feel it.”