CPHS Soccer season comes to an end with losses to Union and Deer Creek

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The season came to a close for the Charles Page High School soccer teams with both the boys and girls falling to Union and Deer Creek in back-to-back game days.

The girls (1-13, 0-7) suffered through a rough season, graduating several of their prior year's top-scorers, then losing half of their remaining starters with injuries early in the year. The Lady Sandites never played a single district game with a full starting lineup.

First-year Head Coach Matt Miller will lose five varsity players this year and will look to rebuild for the 2018 campaign. Brooklyn Turner will continue her career at Redlands Community College, Megan Deshazo will play for Northern Oklahoma College, and Kyndal Zicker will play at Northeastern State University. Slovakian exchange student Eliska Dodokova will return to her home country and play for their national team this summer. The Lady Sandites will also graduate Sybil West.

The boys (5-9, 1-6) didn't pull off a wining record, but they won two more game than their prior two seasons. The Sandites went 3-12 last year and 3-10 the year before that. Five of their losses were by a single goal, and three were in overtime.

Head Coach Garland Betts will graduate several major contributors this season. Kristian Fairchild, Ignacio Garcia, Cody Gurley, Alex Hernandez, Logan Jeffus, Gabriel Jeffus, Pablo Schinnerer, and Adrian Soberano all spent their last season with Charles Page. Garcia will continue his career at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

The Lady Sandites lost both of their final two games by scores of 5-0. Junior Goalkeeper Abigail Banks notched eight saves in a Monday night loss to Deer Creek (10-4, 4-3). They ended the year against the District Champions from Union (13-1, 7-0).

The boys lost both of their final games 4-2. On Monday night they fell to the District Runners-Up from Deer Creek (10-4, 6-1), despite goals from Kaleb Brooks and Jeffus. Brooks scored the first goal of the game just six minutes in, but the Antlers scored back-to-back before Jeffus tied it up just seconds before halftime. Deer Creek added two more nets in the second half for the win.

The District Champions from Union (10-1, 8-0) played a fairly close half-game against the Sandites. The Redskins took a 1-0 lead before Garcia tied it up with a penalty kick. The kick was awarded after the Redskin goal keeper slid into the leg of Gurley and sent him to the hospital with a break. Union resumed the lead and made it 4-1 before Brooks notched a second goal shortly before halftime. After lightning struck in the area, the rest of the game was called off and the season concluded.