By Julie Slama | [email protected]

The highlight for the Hillcrest High girls’ varsity soccer team clearly came 12 games into their season on Sept. 17 when they faced Cottonwood High on the Colts home turf—and on their senior night.

“They had a lot at stake,” Hillcrest coach Eldon Brough said. “We had come off four hard games, but had a good week of practice. The girls were positive and played their heart out. Not a lot of teams would do that with so many losses.”

The Huskies, with two goals from junior Grace Pruden, shut out the Colts in Hillcrest’s only win and two of the seven scores in their 17-game season. 

The Huskies have only won three games in the two years Brough has been head coach.

“There’s no doubt that this is the toughest region in girls’ soccer—five of the eight teams could win state,” he said, adding he had three seniors last year who plan to play collegiately and only four set to graduate this year. “These girls are super, super resilient; they come ready to work and get better with a positive attitude. They’re dedicated to work hard in the off-season, some with clubs, and they’ll come more prepared and with more experience to play next year.”