Just three days after tryouts and only hours before their first match, Hillcrest High School’s girls’ varsity soccer team took the field with optimism, guided by interim head coach Preston McArthur.

“The girls had three opportunities to practice and they're already grooving with each other,” he said. “Our chemistry is building. We'll hit our stride during the season, but the girls are doing well in the short period of time we've had together.”

McArthur, previously an assistant coach for both the boys’ and girls’ programs, assumed the head coach role following Brett Davis’ resignation in July. Davis had been at the helm of both teams for years, and McArthur stepped up with little time to spare before the season began.

“The transition on the surface with a familiar face has been good, but now I’m doing all the back-end stuff – paperwork, all the admin(istrative) stuff,” he said. 

His prior involvement with the teams has eased the transition, especially with returning players.

“We have familiar faces on our back line. Our defense will be more experienced and more solid, and the attack is looking young, but more dynamic than it has been in the last couple years,” he said. “We had more girls try out this year than we did last year and we kept more girls as well. Defensively, we have more flexibility, more depth. Offensively, we have more flexibility as well, which is really a great problem to have.”

This year’s roster includes 39 athletes, with nine seniors — some of whom are returning to the team after time away from the program.

“We welcome them back. Our style of play and formation will be slightly different from last year. I feel our formation was a little bit light on the defensive end last year. I think the reason being is because we were light on defenders. This year with depth in our defense, we’ve switched to a more flexible formation — 4-2-3-1 — it allows us to transition forward a little bit easier, but it still gives us coverage on the defensive side,” he said.

The Huskies have scheduled a challenging pre-season lineup in August with matches against Timpanogos, Hurricane, Pine View and Brighton.

“That sets us up well in terms of competitive targets we should hit throughout the season,” McArthur said. “Brighton got second at state last year, so they are contenders for state this year. Our game against them sets the tone for the season. We will play them early. It'll be competitive. Our goal is to make them feel as uncomfortable as possible, and then we'll go compete in our region, and we'll do well, and then we'll meet them back in the playoffs.”

Now part of the 5A, Region 4 lineup, Hillcrest also will face off against Kearns, who went undefeated in that same region last season.

“They’ll be a good competitor, but we should compete well in region,” he said, adding the players have practiced together since late June.

McArthur brings his own high-level playing experience to the program. A former midfielder at Desert Hills High School, he won a state title as a sophomore and finished runner-up as a junior before the COVID-19 pandemic ended his senior season early. He went on to play at Snow College — where his teams ranked in the top 10 and top 15 his freshman and sophomore year, respectively — and later at Park University in Phoenix. His coaching experience includes leading a girls Avalanche club team and assisting both Hillcrest squads.