Here's a team we can all root for

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 4/14/22

Looking for a soccer team to root for?

I have one for you. Point yourself toward Riverside, Iowa. Yes, that’s right, the future birthplace of Starfleet Captain James Tiberius Kirk. Head to …

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Here's a team we can all root for

Posted

Looking for a soccer team to root for?

I have one for you. Point yourself toward Riverside, Iowa. Yes, that’s right, the future birthplace of Starfleet Captain James Tiberius Kirk. Head to Highland High School, which perhaps is the future high school of Captain Kirk before he showed up at Starfleet Academy to boldly go where no Huskie has gone before.

OK, so why soccer?

The Huskies have not won a game since 2019.

And yet every day, even when the temperature is not even 40 degrees in a rural place where there is nothing to stop the 40 mile-an-hour winds from howling through and biting sleet is tossed down by angry clouds, the Huskies are there. They practice every day. They learn. They’re hungry.

Senior goalkeeper Eli Slaymaker has never won a game.

Jahir Jimenez, a senior, was just a freshman on the 2019 Huskie squad that finished out its regular season with a 1-0 win against Cedar Valley Christian. Highland hasn’t won a game since and began its season this year with a 14-0 loss to Washington that could have been worse if not for Iowa’s mercy rule.

And yet the Huskies, winless in five games, are racing after every ball. They’re mounting offensive attacks. And they’re retreating on defense as Slaymaker dives in front of the net in an attempt to make a save.

When the Huskies are on the attack, the Huskies on the bench are screaming.

When Jaydee Macareno or Kate Hartzler or Stella Slaymaker are chasing after an opponent, there is absolutely no backing off.

Every minute, you’ll find head coach Dylan Stewart and his assistant shouting instructions from the sideline.

“Future looks bright,” Stewart said. “We’re headed in the right direction. It’s just building on the little things, cleaning up mental mistakes and playing within ourselves.”

You can’t find a better team to scream for. Believe me. This is a team that won twice in 2019, lost the 2020 season to the Covid-19 pandemic and hasn’t even tied an opponent since then. Huskie hearts are crying.

On Friday, April 8, in the Huskies’ third home match of the season, on a day when the temperature peaked at 39 degrees, Wapello, winless itself, was speeding toward a 10-goal mercy victory against Highland in the second half.  The Indians were cruising with a 9-0 lead, needing just one more goal to go home early.

And then something happened.

Jimenez, who hadn’t scored a goal in his high school career, found himself with the ball. He blasted it past Wapello keeper Kainoa Seumanutafa with 6:09 left in the game. The place erupted with cheers. Well, the Huskies bench erupted. The stands weren’t exactly packed in February-like weather conditions, but the fans who were there made sure they were heard.

Even scoring one goal is a big deal these days.

“It is,” Stewart said. “Stuff like that, that gives you positives about the game moving forward. We had plenty of chances this game. That was one thing I took away. We had the ball, we had good possession, we had lots of chances, lots of opportunities and that’s all you can ask for at the end of the day.”

The goal was the second of the season for the Huskies, and could just be a hint of what’s still to come.

Certainly, the goal put a smile on the face of a Huskie who has watched as other teams celebrated goals game after game and season after season. This time, it was Highland.

“Something to brag about and talk about,” Stewart said with a smile.

It’s the small steps that can lead to a bigger step.

“It’s the little victories we’ve got to take,” Stewart said. “We’re still a young program trying to build this up at Highland. Again, keep focusing on fundamentals, get in a little better shape and I think good things will start to happen.”

Such as, maybe a win.

There’ll be a huge celebration on that day.

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @bowkerpaul.

Highland, soccer, Bowker