Summer Creek HS boys' soccer with historic turnaround to play for first state championship

For the Summer Creek High School boys' soccer team, what a difference a year makes. "Our team doesn't have a lot of cliques," senior captain Patrick Cleveland said. "Last year, we would be like seniors, juniors, and sophomores.

" "We really start to focus on each other and build as a team, and then now as we are in the postseason, we're on a good streak right now, and hopefully it doesn't end," junior captain Kainoa Carlsward said. The Bulldogs finished last in the district a year ago, only winning five games all season. This year, they are District 23-6A champs and just eliminated with a shutout against the defending state champs from Vandegrift.

The Bulldogs will play in their first state championship in school history. "I don't think that there's a secret," head coach Parker O'Quinn said. "We just work hard, and these guys have been grinding since August and, you know, they've put in the hours, and I just try and get out of the way.

" Their journey to this point started when O'Quinn took over and set the expectations for the program in August. "When I got here in August, we didn't talk about a rebuild," O'Quinn said. "My perspective is you can't have a rebuild because these seniors don't get another year.