Montes brings energy and intensity as Capital’s new girls’ soccer coach

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capital girls soccerBy Gail Wood

In her first season as Capital’s soccer coach, Adriana Montes has stressed the importance of playing with heart.

“I’m all about the passion of the game,” said Montes, who takes over a Capital team that reached the second round of the playoffs last year.

Passion, Montes said, that determination to chase every loose ball, kick every shot as if it might be their last, will often be the difference between winning and losing. The most talented team doesn’t always win.

“If half of us care and half of us don’t care, we’re not going to win,” Montes said. “They all have to have the determination and passion to win games.”

Montes, who is in her first season as a head coach and replaces Anna Boatright, knows something about playing with passion. It’s how she played, with a gusto. She was a four-year starter at Willamette High School in Eugene, scoring 15 goals each season.

After one season at Lane Community College where she led her team with six goals, Montes walked on at the University of Oregon, earning a spot on the team during a three-day tryout. Despite injuries that forced her to redshirt her sophomore year, Montes played in 10 games as a senior in the fall of the 2009 season, playing center and outside midfielder.

“I was a hard worker. My coaches told me that,” Montes said.

That’s how she played and that’s how she expects her team to play. Montes’ experience at the major college level has her new team’s attention, giving her instant credibility.

“She knows what she’s talking about,” Capital junior and all-league player Alyssa Edenstrom said. “She knows how to prepare us for games.”

Practices are intense.

“She makes us play every practice how we’re going to play in a game,” Edenstrom said. “There’s lots of running. More than we have in the past.”

Steve Ballande, Capital’s athletic director, hired Montes last spring, choosing her over several coaches who had more experience and had led their team to the playoffs. This is Montes’ first head coaching experience.

But Ballande was impressed with Montes’ enthusiasm and her background as a soccer player. Last year as she substitute taught, Montes played semipro soccer for the Portland Rain.

“She had so much detail about training soccer players,” Ballade said. “She had a playbook and all these things she wanted to do. She brings a tremendous amount of intensity. She knows what it’s liked to play at the next level.”

Capital, which beat Holy Names 3-2 in the opening round of the playoffs last season, is off to a 2-1 start, narrowly losing 2-1 to perennially tough Bellarmine.

capital soccer“Our strength is our defensive line right now,” Montes said. “Offensively, we are strong. We have to build our possession. We want to keep the ball and build up play. I like to control the ball. Make the other team run. Get them tired. Then attack.”

Montes moved from Mexico to Eugene with her family when she was 4. She remembers going to the park to play soccer with her father, who coached her how to play the game. Now, in addition to coaching at Capital, she teaches Spanish at Washington High School.

Montes hasn’t lost her love for playing the game. She still plays on several co-ed soccer teams. In her first game, she scored three goals to help her team win 3-1.  A former coach of her with the Portland Rain said he thought she could play professionally in London.

“I’m hoping that happens,” Montes said.

 

Players to watch

Here are some of the top players returning in the area

 

Black Hills – Emma Hay, Katy Hanson, Mckenzie May, Jamie Applegarth, Ivy Davison, Whitney Lowe, Alli Thompson, Sarah McGee.

 

Capital – Callie Chadwell, Lena Morena, Haley Peters, Alyssa Edenstrom, Loren Switzer, McKenzie Phillips, Rachel Crowe, Elysia Lampert, Julia Stohr.

 

Chehalis – Katie Braun, Breanna Carter, Macey Elder, Chelsie Fechtner, Emily Jorgensen, Meghan Ward, Marissa Reynolds, Kenna Tornow, Olivia Erskine, Rachelle Fisher, Julia Carter, Reagan Nelson.

 

North Thurston – Rebecca Huynh, Natalie Ramsey, Chandini Powell, Grace Gibbs, Lydia Rush.

 

Olympia – Mariah Steen, Rachel Fleener, Lexi Fesenbek, Annie Armstrong, Deidra Woodward, Meaghan Schmitt, Olivia Brock.

 

Shelton – Katie Dean, Taylor Muenchow, Clara Robbins, Alison Hunter, Tori Bamford..

 

Tumwater – Abbey Bergquist, Mariah O’Neil, Emily Barclift, Lauren Brandt, C.J. Howard.

 

Timberline – Alyssa Gubser, Katrina Jones, Allie Bakotich, Jordan Meyer, Meghan Doherty, Krista Jones, Libby Kamrowski, Heather Johnsen.

 

Tenino – Karri Russell, Janelle Young, Kaitlin Forest, Shelby Frasl, Megan Crawford, Kristen Jorgensen, Lauren Gehrke, Kayli Hayes, Nicole Huber, Kelli Neer.

 

Yelm – Sydney Anderson, Karly Bothman, Nicole Bauer, Grace McDonough, Samantha Haley, Samantha Matthews, Anjanette Wilson.

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