Both the boys and girls Sand Devils soccer teams entered a new league this year. They dropped the winter league in preference for the autumn league.
Entering the new league means they’ll face teams they’ve never played against before. And so far, the boys team is performing very well.
In their debut game of the season, they defeated Leading Edge Academy 17-0.

 “It was a good win,” said boys head soccer coach Ryan Palizzi. “It was a good way to get our feet wet and establish ourselves in the new league.
The soccer team traveled last weekend for the Chino Valley Tournament where they played five games in two days. They finished third, beating Ash Fork twice, Grand Canyon once and lost to Chino Valley and Camp Verde one time each.
Ethan Oman was the Sand Devils leading scorer in the tournament with seven goals. Sage Nelson and Brycen Mokhesi each contributed two goals.
Overall, Coach Palizzi is happy with the way his team performed. They were missing some depth as four of his key players missed the tournament due to injuries and sickness but he expects to have his team back to full strength this week.    
“We have a really exciting team,” said Coach Palizzi. “I encourage everyone to come out and support them. I think it will be a fun year for us.”
Their next home game will be Sept. 14 against Camp Verde.