New coach, fresh outlook has Arroyo Grande girls soccer off to a blistering start

Cate Boller sat on the bench in the final minutes of the Arroyo Grande High School girls soccer team’s blowout of Cabrillo in the second game of the season.

With eight minutes left, Arroyo Grande’s first-year head coach John Clarke walked up to his senior striker and asked if Boller — who had already bagged two goals — wanted to go back in to chase a hat trick. She said no.

“This isn’t Cate time, this is the team’s time,” Boller responded.

“She blew me away at that time,” Clarke said. “That’s a true leader. She’s not in it for the glory.”

Boller’s unselfishness has shown up on the stat sheet, too. After leading the 13-7-4 Eagles in goals last season, Boller leads the team in assists this season and has Arroyo Grande off to a 5-0 start and ranked in the top 20 in California, according to MaxPreps.com.

“New girls and a new team, still kind of getting used to it,” Boller said at practice Wednesday. “I am still playing forward; it’s not so much that my role has changed, but as a team, that we have changed. And therefore I’m more assisting right now instead of scoring.”

That doesn’t mean Boller — a Cal Lutheran commit — has lost her nose for the net. In Arroyo Grande’s biggest test of the young season, a home game against Dos Pueblos, her left-footed strike from outside the box found the back of the net and ignited a four-goal second half and a 4-2 win.

“That was our hardest game, coming back,” Boller said. “It shows a lot of character, a lot of hard work and determination because they played well.”

Bolstered by a defense that has allowed one goal per game and the solid play of sophomore goalie Gracie Weidler, Arroyo Grande has taken well to Clarke’s new 4-3-1-2 system he honed over 12 years coaching at San Luis Obispo High School and local club teams.

Boller, who has three goals and five assist this season, is joined in the attack by junior Jocelin Martinez and sophomore Allie Palangi, who leads the team with five goals.

“The foundation of this team was built from (Bob Wilson, former head coach). I am just trying to tweak some things and change the environment,” Clarke said.

Arroyo Grande travels to Southern California for a tournament this weekend and plays a game against Nipomo before league play begins on Jan. 3 against Righetti. And though the game is more than a month away, Arroyo Grande already has its eye on another undefeated team in the PAC 8, San Luis Obispo (6-0-1), the No. 7 ranked team in the state.

“Growing up with those (SLO) girls, it’s hard not to think about them, but I’m also trying to think about the game in front of us,” Boller said. “We have a tourney and a lot of games to play. I’m not trying to look too far.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "New coach, fresh outlook has Arroyo Grande girls soccer off to a blistering start."