Pride Predators 93 Las Vegas Regional Experience ‘07

As a team, for 24/7 we ate, slept, and played together under extreme pressure & heat (average 110 degrees) in an effort to achieve our team’s goals for the ’07 Region IV Soccer Tournament. Individually and cohesively, all were encouraged to excel and showed much dedication in preparation for what we knew would be a tremendous challenge. Regionals require 110% focus and holds little room for error.

That first game, emotions ran high because we faced the’ 06 Regional Champions; but being a team based on belief in ourselves and a winning attitude, we came out of the game respectably with a tie. In game two against Nevada our team surged with momentum and fire to earn a 5 to 1 victory. Facing Utah in our last pool play game, tournament pressure escalated as we had to tie or win to advance. However, we were hungry for a victory and that’s what we got. The ending score was 2 to 1. 

Our draw for the quarters turned out to be Cal North who was an equal match to us. Fortunately, our dedication to physical fitness paid dividends as our opponent tired. We pushed to achieve two 2nd half goals. Our victory led us to a semi-final berth against Cal South. We fought a valiant battle with heart, but unfortunately came up short; this time… Cal South went on to win Regionals ’07.  

We learned from our experience at Regionals that every team in the tournament is a state champion meaning they are very capable. When it is game time, stepping on the field and playing for 70 minutes with everything you got is imperative. As a team we represented ourselves, Pride, and Colorado with tenacity and discipline. We know what we are up against and are going to do everything in our power as a team and as individuals so that we may raise the bar again next year and make it to a final!

Special thanks to our families and club for supporting us.    

By Jennifer Stoot