Sophie Coelho and her Baler soccer teammates are moving up in
the Tri-county Athletic League
With 10 league games remaining in the girls’ soccer season, the
second-place Haybalers of San Benito High still have plenty of time
to catch Gilroy
– the team they shared the league title with last season.
As it stands now, the Balers are 6-3 overall and just a single
game behind the first-place Mustangs. And with a standout forward
like sophomore Sophie Coelho in the starting lineup, anything is
possible.
Coelho is second in the Tri County Athletic League in scoring
with eight goals, and she’s No. 1 in the league in the assist
department with six.
Sophie Coelho and her Baler soccer teammates are moving up in the Tri-county Athletic League
With 10 league games remaining in the girls’ soccer season, the second-place Haybalers of San Benito High still have plenty of time to catch Gilroy – the team they shared the league title with last season.
As it stands now, the Balers are 6-3 overall and just a single game behind the first-place Mustangs. And with a standout forward like sophomore Sophie Coelho in the starting lineup, anything is possible.
Coelho is second in the Tri County Athletic League in scoring with eight goals, and she’s No. 1 in the league in the assist department with six.
“She just has really good patience with the ball,” San Benito High coach Mike Schurig said. “She doesn’t rush the situation, and she has excellent foot skills.”
In addition to those attributes, Coelho brings explosive speed to the Baler lineup – a speed that has allowed her to get behind opposing defenses almost at will and score before anyone knows what has happened.
“When I’m on the field a lot of different things go through my mind,” said Coelho, who has nine years of organized soccer experience. “I think about what I need to do. Where I should be and passing with my teammates. When I get the ball, I try and look up to see if I have an open goal. If not, I try to pass it, but I always try to look up and see what’s going on.”
It was that same skill set that first propelled Coelho to the top of the league last season as a freshman where she led the Balers in scoring with 19 goals – a total that was topped only by North Salinas senior Tannia Hernandez, who had 28.
“I like soccer because I like playing with the team,” the 15-year-old athlete said. “I enjoy the accomplishments that come at the end of the year and after you win a game.”
Last year, the Balers lost to San Jose’s Leigh High School in the opening round of the Section playoffs. This year Coelho believes the Balers are on the brink of something big.
“I think we have the ability to go way farther and do better than we did last year,” She said. “We have the talent and the ability but we have to work it, and put what we have into it. It all depends on how much we want it.”
It’s easy to see why Coelho, who was named Freshman Player of the Year last year, is sure to earn a few MVP votes when all is said and done.
“She’s matured a lot this year and she’s more disciplined out there,” Schurig said. “She handles the pressure well, and passes and takes the shot well.”
While Coelho’s numbers are impressive, it is highly unlikely that she’ll surpass the school’s all-time goal-scoring record that was set by Jennifer Rose Vandenberg, a 2005 graduate.
In Vandenberg’s four seasons at San Benito High, she scored 142 goals, including her Central Coast Section season record of 56 goals her sophomore year.
“Jennifer was a great player but Sophie is too,” Schurig said. “Jennifer’s totals were a little misleading, especially her sophomore totals, because she was the only player we could go to up top. Jennifer was our only go-to player, period. Sophie has a lot more support out there. Last year, we scored 46 goals as a team and Sophie had 19 of them. She really is an excellent player.”
