Catie Cheshire is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Highland for AZPreps365.com.

Less than one minute after Tuesday’s girls soccer match between Highland and Kofa began, Sydney Menden scored the first of eight goals in the Hawks’ shutout of the Kings.

Once Menden possessed the ball she confidently dribbled straight to the goal, looping the ball into the net before the clock read 39:00. Menden was one of five Hawks who scored, including senior forward Kaleigh Backlund who ended the night with four goals.

“When it comes off my foot I can tell if it's going to be a real chance or if it's going out, and these goals today I could kind of tell once it came off my foot that they were going in,” Backlund said. 

Backlund’s first goal came in minute 11. She powered the ball into the bottom right corner of the net off a corner kick from teammate Kali McEuen, who scored off another corner kick later in the half. 

Backlund cited the team’s camaraderie and communication as the reason they scored so many goals. Coach Andy Barber agreed, saying the goal in the first minute helped put the Kings on their heels immediately.

“Anytime that you can set the tone like that it's typically going to lead to more positive things coming from it,” Barber said.

One of Barber’s goals for the game was to practice Highland’s defensive organization and overall mentality so the team will be ready when more heated moments come later in the season. Barber said he thought the early goal might have made the team too relaxed, resulting in a need to reorient toward organization and communication during halftime despite Highland leading 4-0. 

During the second half Barber said his team found the rhythm and mentality he was hoping for, including scoring what he described as the best goal of the game in minute 46.

Already ahead 5-0, senior midfielder Kylee Holstad passed the ball up the sideline to Menden who found Backlund across the field for her fourth goal of the evening, making the score 6-0.  

Barber said that goal showed the team can move the ball in addition to beating other teams with their speed, which is how they scored most of their goals in the game. For Backlund, the sixth goal was her favorite because the ball went exactly where she intended.

Finishing what Backlund started, Camryn Patten and Mia Dover scored in minutes 54 and 61.

Highland keeper Haley Bartel kept the Kings locked out of the net, saving all three of their shots on goal with one leaping save where she punched the ball away from the top of the net in the 15th minute. On the other side of the field, Kofa keeper Yadira Elizondo saved 9 of 17 shots on goal, as the Hawks kept her busy all night. 

Though the game didn’t end well for the Kings, Kofa Coach Santos Rangel said Highland is always one of the best teams in the state so he emphasized the lessons his team can learn from the loss.

“If our program wants to get better we have to keep playing these kinds of teams,” he said.

Barber said strong showings like this one help the Highland’s confidence going into a tough matchup with Pinnacle at 6 p.m. Thursday. Pinnacle (9-0) is currently the No. 1 team in the state, with Highland (6-2) ranked at No. 6.

“It was important for this game to make sure that we're setting the right tone for what comes up in the next game,” Barber said.

Kofa (3-3-1) will host Mountain Pointe (2-5-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday.