Taiwo Adeshigbin is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover BASIS Phoenix for AZPreps365.com

The BASIS Phoenix girls soccer team was accustomed to having just enough players – 11- but on Friday night, it was 10. Their opponent, Santa Cruz, who traveled nearly an hour, accompanied the Firebirds in the same boat but with seven players. 

The Firebirds chalked up the scoreboard quickly, scoring nine goals in the first half in their 12-0 win. Instead of two 40-minute halves, the mercy rule was implemented (when a team is eight or more goals behind), ending the game in the 60th minute. 

For most of the first half, the Firebirds played three players up, and at times struggled with their passing accuracy. In a few instances, the Dust Devils (0-4) disrupted their offensive attack, but rarely posed an offensive threat.    

First-year BASIS Phoenix coach Ansel Bob said his team has difficulty stringing together passes. So, instead of attacking the goal immediately, he had his team put together a certain number of passes before attempting to score. 

Team captain Abigail Post racked up three goals in the first 20 minutes, but she and her team's mindset was beyond the score. 

“We worked a lot together to involve our defense, our midfield and our offense and tried to get the players that don’t have an opportunity to shoot, to get them more involved in the offense,” Post said.

 While scoring seemed automatic for the Firebirds, some players notched their first goal of the season. 

After scoring two goals, Natalie Rawlings said her aggressiveness, precise passing, and her ability to get to the ball created those opportunities. 

“It felt amazing (to score) off of a beautiful run. It was nice to get some action finally and set my teammates up,” Rawlins said.

Since the start of the season, this team’s backbone and grit have kept them pressing on, despite a limited roster. Bob said his team started  the season with 11 players on the season, and plan to finish with 11. 

The challenge of no substitutions remains, but Bob said he wants his team to continue to hone on their weaknesses, learn from their victories, and enjoy the game. 

From a winless season last year to becoming a contender in the 3A Conference, the Firebirds (3-3) are encouraged with their collective win. Twelve goals mark the highest scoring match for this new team looking to finish strong. 

"This win has been a huge boost to our confidence, and hopefully we will be able to continue the winning streak from now on,"  Rawlings said.

BASIS Phoenix will host Veritas Prep (6-0-1) at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Santa Cruz Valley will host American Leadership Academy-Ironwood (4-0) at 4 p.m. Tuesday.