By Josie Collier
Staff Writer
Sydney Saypack shot and scored at the West Regional Soccer Championship tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.
Freshman Sydney Saypack and her team placed first in the West Regional Championship tournament on Jan. 8. Saypack competed for the Cal South Olympic Development Program (ODP) 2003 team, against other ODP teams from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona.
“I was nervous because I was the only person from my club team there,” Saypack said. “We had two trainings going into the tournament and it was nerve -wracking because you don’t know how everybody plays and the coach teaches a new style that you have to adapt to.”
In the first match of the tournament on Jan. 5, Cal South shutout Alaska with a 6-0 victory. Saypack presenting a forceful offensive attack was able to score the first goal of the match putting the team up 1-0. The win put Cal South in a perfect position for advancing to the next round of the tournament.
“We were confident after the Alaska game because it boosted our self-esteem, and we thought we could actually do this,” Saypack said.
Later that night, Cal South continued its defensive dominance defeating Eastern Washington 2-0. After achieving a third straight shutout victory with a 2-0 win against Oregon, Cal South punched its ticket to the semi-finals. The team, then in the semi-finals, played a rivalry match against Cal North.
“We talked about the things we needed to do and work on to get things under control after the game,” Saypack said. “We worked on the different styles of play, formations, and communication.”
During the semi-finals on Jan.7, Cal South surrendered the first goal of the match to Cal North but managed to tie the game 1-1, sending both teams into overtime and penalty kicks. Cal South defeated Cal North 3-0 in penalty kicks, allowing the team to continue onto the finals against Washington.
“Getting to the semi-finals felt good because we knew we did not want to go home,” Saypack said. “Once we got to penalty kicks it felt like there was nothing more that we could do because it was really up to luck and staying relaxed.”
The finals against Washington on Jan. 8 was scoreless for the first and second half, which led Cal South into another round of penalty kicks. Cal South clenched onto the lead and won 5-4 in penalty kicks. Cal South left the tournament with a perfect record along with the Girls 2003 year WRT championship title.
“After we won we all just rushed out onto the field to each other,” Saypack said. “I felt relieved and so happy winning regionals because you work so hard to get there.”
Saypack will begin tryouts in the winter to make the Cal South ODP team for the next season and play in next year’s West Regional Championship tournament.
“I probably will not play with this exact team again but it was nice to know that we could all come together to win a tournament,” Saypack said.
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