Coyote girls soccer to host third showcase

Three of the top teams in California will be among the 12 teams playing Friday and Saturday on Lee DaSilva Field in Memorial Stadium in the third annual Madera Showcase presented by Cen Cal Sports.

Carondelet-Concord (5th in the Nation, 2nd in Northern California), Liberty-Brentwood (25th in the state, 7th in NorCal) and Clovis North (25th in Southern California) will be amongst the teams in the prestigious two-day tournament, hosted by the Coyotes girls soccer team.

“We have a lot of schools coming back,” head coach Cameron Hill said. “We have one new school this year. All the other ones from the Central Section are coming back. Cardinal Newman is the new school.”

Representing the Central Section, in addition to Clovis North, will be Clovis West, Central-Fresno, Clovis, Bullard-Fresno and Madera.

Traveling from around the state to Madera will be Liberty, Carondelet, California, El Camino, Maria Carillo and Cardinal Newman.

“It shows they are getting the competition,” Hill said. “A lot of them are starting the season off. They don’t have a lot of preseason. It’s good competition and it’s not against their normal people.”

Clovis North ended up playing Carondelet in the state playoffs last year.

Unfortunately, the Central Section teams have yet to win a match at the showcase.

“There have been ties,” Hill said. “Only a few of the games have been blowouts. Hopefully this year, we (Central Section) will get a win.”

In addition, Madera has stepped up its game to battle some of the best teams in the state.

“Our girls have stepped it up every year,” Hill said. “I have tried to stay away from Carondelet, but we will get them this year. My team enjoys the games. It’s something they look forward to. It’s a nice event. It’s something they want to be a part of when they make the varsity team.”

In addition to great teams, Hill has made contact with a number of coaches from colleges around the areal. Committed teams are Fresno Pacific, UC Merced, CSU Stanislaus, Fresno City, Reedley, Clovis Community College and Hill is still in contact with a few others.

The talent levels from the teams are shown throughout the teams with a number of players signing to colleges, including one to Notre Dame.

“One of the girls from Stanford came to the showcase when she was in high school and she played for Stanford in the NCAA championship,” Hill said. “The goalie from Carondelet last year was the Pac-10 goalkeeper of the year and second team All-American. It’s nice to see the talent that comes.”

One of the best draws for the teams, especially those out of the section, is the assurance that they will play two full matches on a full course without the prospect of getting rained out.

“The big attraction is we play on turf,” Hill said. “They know they are going to play and play on a quality field.”

Hill had thoughts of expanding the tournament, but he likes to keep all the games at a single location and the turf on Lee DaSilva Field makes it possible.

“We’ve talked about growing it, but I want to keep it at one location,” Hill said. “We have the teams set, but once they are in, they stay in.”