A strong early start to the season appeared to get them into state for the first time in four years. But when the dust of the power points settled, they came up just short in the standings.
Even had the numbers turned out differently, the Colts would have entered state with a skeleton crew as seven members — many of them starters — were kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons.
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On top of all that, two-year head coach Mark Dannels resigned in the summer. The deputy commander for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office moved to become the police chief in a small Oregon community.
That left Buena searching for a new coach, and the school selected Marilyn Piduch, who led the Colts to the state quarterfinals in 2004 only to resign the following year.
“When I heard that the head coaching position was available, I took a lot of time to consider whether I wanted to return to the program,” Piduch said. “I had to consider how my work and family life could adjust to such a demanding schedule. Luckily, both my family and my employment were very supportive of me pursuing this interest.”
Piduch inherits a team that should have enough weapons to make a run at state.
“The reality is with a new coach and a new philosophy, it will take time for adjustment,” Piduch said. “I know that I will need to earn their trust coming on as their coach without having had the opportunity to develop a player/coach relationship over the years. The strength is that these girls have the years of experience playing with each other. This will help when it comes to teamwork and team unity.”
The Colts lose leading scorer from a year ago, Jessica Creager, but return a strong core.
Six seniors, Cassie Butler, Sharr Kvammen, Ashley Serrano, Rachel Shatto, Molley Ward and Savannah Ward provide leadership, and Ward, Shatto and Serrano will likely create and take advantage of scoring opportunities, Piduch said.
“Sophomore Venesse Morales has shown dedication towards developing her skills as a goalkeeper,” Piduch said. “I see much potential with her and the contribution she will make for the team. Another strength to our defense will be junior Danelle Coppola. She will be an asset to our defensive line through her leadership and abilities to make opportunities in the offensive attack.”
The Colts open their season today at 4:30 p.m. at Salpointe Catholic in the first game of the Brandon Bean tournament. They play their home opener Tuesday at home against Douglas as part of the weeklong tournament. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
