Anthem Boulder Creek girls soccer coach Gina Cormier knew this year’s team was going to be special heading into the season. But even she was a little surprised as the clock ticked to zero and Boulder Creek walked away with a convincing 4-2 win over Phoenix Xavier Prep, snapping the Gators’ streak of 31 consecutive wins against schools from Arizona.
Xavier Prep is the premier program in Arizona, with a state record 14 titles, and is in the midst of a dynastic run with four in a row. They are the team to beat, and it finally happened last month – for the first time in nearly three years. Xavier Prep’s last loss to an in-state opponent came to Chandler Hamilton on Feb. 7, 2022.
The win against Xavier is part of Boulder Creek’s blazing 9-0 start to the season (5-0 in AIA games) and has the Jaguars thinking big this postseason. Boulder Creek is No. 1 in The Republic’s latest set of team rankings. MaxPreps also has Boulder Creek at No. 1. The AIA will be releasing its rankings on Jan. 14.
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“It was a confidence booster,” Cormier said. “But we saw that game just like another game. Every game is a mountain to climb. We want to get to the top, enjoy the view and find the next hill to climb. “
Cormier, who grew up in Albuquerque and played soccer for the University of New Mexico, has been coaching at Boulder Creek since 2021. She first came to Arizona two years before that, where she was with Glendale Mountain Ridge. Cormier also scouts and coaches with the Olympic Development Program in the area and serves as the head coach at Arizona Christian University in the NAIA.
This year’s Boulder Creek team is led by a mix of upper and underclassmen: senior Kaylee Muniz (14 goals, 11 assists), junior Sophie Williams (14 goals, 7 assists) and sophomore Xaida Ford (11 goals, 4 assists).
Muniz has signed with Northern Arizona University while Williams is committed to BYU. Cormier thinks there are seven or eight Division I prospects on this roster.
Also helping is the fact that six players on the team also split time on the field with each other as club teammates at Real Salt Lake and Phoenix Rising.
“It’s nice because I know how they play and they know how I play, so we’re always connecting with each other,” Williams said. “But we also get to meet new people and have new experiences. You learn to adapt to new players and situations on the field.”
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Muniz, one of the veterans of the team who’s been there since Cormier first took over the program, saw an increase in talent level early on during tryouts before the season.
The eye test quickly lined up with play on the field. Boulder Creek has already almost matched its win total from last season (11) with seven games remaining in the regular season. She thinks the buy-in to Cormier and the coaching staff has been the team’s foundation this season.
The win against Xavier wasn’t just a blip on the radar. They’ve also beaten Goodyear Millennium, Queen Creek Casteel and Chandler Basha. Confidence is building in Anthem. With the Open Division coming to soccer for the first time this year, which combines the top 32 teams from the 6A, 5A and 4A conferences into one tournament, confidence is needed.
“We have the best talent out there. We’ve shown that. Our coaches continue to be there for us and show up,” Muniz said. “I think we can take anyone down if we’re all playing our game.”
Boulder Creek has never won a state championship at any level in soccer. Since the 1989-1990 season, the first year of girl’s soccer as an AIA sport in Arizona, only one school located north of the I-17 and Loop 101 interchange has ever won a championship in the state’s highest division: Pinnacle in 2014. Schools further south, like Xavier, Scottsdale Chaparral and Tucson Salpointe Catholic, have dominated 6A, 5A and 4A over the years.
That’s fueling the Jaguars. They’ll take whatever division it is, whether it’s the Open or in 6A. But they want the best of the best. Another test awaits on Wednesday, when they next play, against Sandra Day O’Connor (5-2 in 6A conference play).
“There is a hunger in this team to not only bring a championship to Boulder but to bring a championship to the North side schools. It hasn’t happened in a very long time,” Cormier said. “Our league is our competition, our opponents, but we’re united in that we want to bring a championship back here on our side of town. We’re up for all of it. We want to win it all.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@LSscribe.
