Lady Colts soccer team aims to 'break the bar'

By Mark Wright

Special to the Citizen-Journal

Arlington High senior girls soccer star Kiki Recinos enjoys the chances to show her skills that playing in the midfield often provides.

With the ball in her possession and on the attack, the Lady Colts' center-midfielder gets creative.

Even she has no idea what kind of tactic she'll use to get past opposing defenders.

"I like taking on people one-on-one, using my moves," Recinos said.

A first-team all-district defender last season, Recinos, who played forward as a sophomore, is up for doing anything seventh-year coach Andrea Scott asks of her.

"I can play any position except goal," Recinos said. "So wherever coach puts me, I'll play."

Working on a dream

Recinos' team-first attitude blends well with her Arlington teammates.

The roster of just 15 players is trying to exceed last season's success.

The Lady Colts reached the fourth round of the 5A playoffs in 2012.

"We have this quote right now I really love: 'Teamwork makes a dream work,'" Recinos said.

But Recinos' dream extends far beyond Arlington High School, where she's one of the senior class's most popular students.

Recinos, who in the fall was named the school's homecoming queen, has been invited to try out for Guatemala's under-20 national team.

Recinos' parents hail from Guatemala, and her father played for the national team.

She plans to travel Guatemala during spring break to audition for the squad.

"I'm so proud of her," Scott said. "She's incredibly versatile and coachable."

Recinos views the national team as a possible way to keep playing the game she loves beyond high school.

"I want to continue my soccer career, you might say -- play international," she said.

Coming to a close

Her high school soccer career isn't over just yet.

The Lady Colts open District 3-5A play with a home match Friday against Martin.

The two squads tied for the district title last season.

Arlington lost once and tied once against Martin during Arlington's unlikely run.

Recinos and her teammates are hungry to earn a victory against their rival.

"This year we really want to beat them," Recinos said. "I have high hopes."

Recinos and fellow seniors Nikki Lockwood and Molly Lukk have turned high hopes into high levels of success going back to their sophomore season.

That's when Arlington defeated Martin in girls soccer for the first time in school history.

And last season, the players say, few outside the program expected the Lady Colts to contend for a district title, much less advance further in the postseason than any other team in the district.

"I don't think anybody expected us to be that successful, and we were the most successful team in our district," said Lockwood, a second-team all-district goalkeeper as a junior. "That pushes us to be successful this year."

Lukk, a second-team all-district forward last season, said Arlington might not have started last season as an elite team.

But the players grew into one as they discovered how good they could be.

"At the very beginning, I don't think we were sure where we were at," Lukk said. "And once we started going, we realized we had the potential to be a really good team. It was kind of a growing effect."

The Lady Colts know their potential this season.

A 4-2 nondistrict victory last week against a talented Keller Central squad suggests that Arlington's ready for another competitive district campaign and a long postseason.

But the success won't happen on its own. There's plenty of work still to be done, Recinos said.

"We set the bar really high last year," Recinos said. "And now I really want to break the bar."

With unselfish leaders such as Recinos leading the way, there's no reason to think Arlington won't once again reach great heights, Scott said.

"If I said, 'Kiki, I need you to run through that brick wall,' she says, 'How fast, coach?'" Scott said. "Soccer is what she lives, dreams, breathes about. It's her passion."

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