HS By The Numbers: Va. coach hits 500 wins
Soccer is not a stat-driven sport, but that doesn't mean it is devoid of numbers. Each Friday for the rest of the high school season, TopDrawerSoccer high school editor Sheldon Shealer will provide a glance at some of the recent numerical milestones. If you have a performance or milestone worth noting, send us an email.
1 -- The number of times a Texas public school has won boys and girls soccer state titles in the same season. Wakeland (Frisco, Texas) will have the chance to pull off that feat this week in the Texas 5A state tournament. The last -- and only -- school to pull the double was J.J. Pearce in 1985, according to the Dallas Morning News.
2 -- As in the number of Class A state champions in Georgia, starting next year. The Georgia High School Association executive committee voted unanimously to separate the public and private schools in Class A, the state's small-school bracket, creating two A champions starting next school year. Private school teams have won every Class A (or AA/A) girls title since the inception of the tournament in 1994. On the boys side, there has been three public school champs, none since 2010.
45 -- Wando's boys soccer win streak currently stands at 45, just one shy of the state record, which was set by Spring Valley, according to South Carolina soccer historians.
70 -- The number of goals Valley View (Pharr, Texas) sophomore Mario De Los Santos has scored this season, entering this week's state tournament. He is averaging 2.37 goals per match.
100 -- Amazingly, Oak Mountain (Ala.) coaches Dan DeMaster (boys) and Chris Blight (girls) reached the 100-win mark on the same date -- April 10. For Blight, the milestone simply capped a full day. At 3 a.m. he was preparing with his wife for the birth of their daughter, which arrived at 9 a.m. Less than 10 hours later, he was on the sidelines for Oak Mountain's shootout win over Hoover.
150 -- Former All-State player Lori Arundell reached career coach win No. 150 recently at Sapulpa (Okla.), her alma mater. That number is significant given the limited number of matches played in Oklahoma, where often teams will play only 12-14 regular season contests.
500 -- Longtime Blacksburg (Va.) boys coach Shelley Blumenthal collected his 500th coaching victory Wednesday night as Blacksburg defeated Northside 2-0. Blumenthal, who recently was honored by having the road leading to the school's stadium named in his honor, sports a career record of 500-41-20 in 25 seasons at Blacksburg.
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