CALDWELL, Idaho — The senior class for the Caldwell Cougars boys soccer team has played in the 4A Idaho state championship the last three years, winning back to back state titles.
The Cougars are playing for their third title in a row, and they are lead by goal-scoring machine Damian Arguello.
"I've been playing soccer since I was three-years-old it has been a family tradition that started with my grandparents who played in Mexico," said Arguello. "Just playing soccer makes me feel happy."
Arguello scored three goals in Caldwell's 5-1 win over Emmett on Thursday night as the Cougars improved to 3-1-1 on the season.
That puts Arguello at 95-career high school goals just five away from reaching 100, a truly amazing milestone.
"I've been coaching in this district and Idaho for ten seasons, and I've talked to a lot of the coaches that have been here a lot longer than me," said Caldwell coach Rhys Yeakley. "I've asked them have you ever heard about anything like this?"
The Idaho High School Activities Association doesn't keep track of individual goals in soccer, but Yeakley believes nobody has ever reached the century mark in goals.
"Kids have really big years their junior and senior year, get 20-30 goals a year for two years, and they are sitting at 50, 60 maybe 70 goals over a career," said Yeakley. "I haven't talked to anyone who heard of anything higher than that, so 100 isn't just a milestone, I think it is quite a bit farther than a lot of varsity kids."
But for Arguello and the Cougars, the focus is on trying to win their third straight state championship at the 4A level, not on individual accomplishments.
"Honestly, this individual thing it doesn't really get to me, I'm trying to win another one with these guys this year," said Arguello. "Trying to get that three-peat and make history."
Two-time defending state champ Caldwell is the preseason favorite in the 4A SIC boys soccer race.
— Michael Lycklama (@michaellycklama) September 14, 2020
But they'll have plenty of competition, according to the coaches' poll.
Full rankings ⬇️ #idpreps pic.twitter.com/1NGbSVssHt
Caldwell hosts Ridgeview High School at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and then Columbia High School on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday's game will be senior night and realistically could be the night Arguello eclipses one-hundred goals.
