Only one undefeated girl’s soccer team left in Central Oregon, and it’s the team with the least experience.
They’d never played at the varsity level before this season.
It’s the girls’ soccer team at Bend’s newest school, Caldera High.
“I have very high expectations,” said Caldera sophomore Camryn Wurth. “I think this is going to be a very good season for us. I’m just excited to see how we do against the other teams.”
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In their first two varsity games ever, they defeated last year’s 5A state champions and runner-up state champions.
“It’s an ideal start absolutely,” said Caldera girls soccer head coach Gavin Meyer. “Reasoning, I think we just have a lot of depth on our team, and so we have a deep bench, and all these girls are capable of starting, and that helps us out quite a bit.”
Last year, the brand new school opened with only freshman and sophomores, playing only JV games. Now they are playing at one of the highest levels, but still without a single senior on the team.
“In some ways, it’s nice,” said Meyer. “Ignorance is bliss. We don’t know what the teams were like last year because we weren’t in this league, and we weren’t playing varsity teams. So we are just showing up and playing games.”
It’s a pack of wolves that’s hungry for success.
“You can put something in front of them, and they are going to do it right,” said Meyer. “These girls are goal-oriented, and they are looking for good outcomes.”
According to the players, they’re more than just a group of girls on a soccer field.
“We’re more than a team; we’re family,” said Caldera junior Sienna McCarl. “We are really well connected. We have been playing together for a while.”
A new team in a new league, still trying to prove their worth.
“I don’t totally know how well known we are, but we definitely are a new school and this is only our second year playing sports and being open in general, so we are still kind of making a title for ourselves,” Wurth said. “So, we definitely are a little bit of underdogs.”
Those underdogs are now the top dogs.
After the team’s 5-0 victory over Henley Thursday night, the Wolfpack is now the No. 1-ranked 5A team in the state of Oregon.
Conference play for Caldera starts next week as the Wolfpack take on Bend High School at home Tuesday at 7 p.m.
