Pair of Clark seniors set bar high
Before she announced her commitment to the Cal State Bakersfield soccer team in April, Clark senior Darian Gambetta recalled the first time she took her high school field as a freshman.
The brief case of nostalgia helped make her college decision much easier.
"They're trying to build up their team because they haven't been so good in the past. It kind of reminded me of Clark," Gambetta said. "When I first got here, we weren't the best, but we've been building it up."
Led by Gambetta, who ranks second in Southern Nevada in scoring with 33 goals and 11 assists, and senior teammate Ariana Reyes — a UNLV commit — Clark has made three consecutive postseason appearances and is on track for a fourth this season.
The Chargers had made the playoffs just four of the previous 10 seasons before inheriting the two future Division I athletes, who have equally had a hand, or foot, in turning around the program.
"It's been an awesome experience for me to coach them," said Liz Case, in her 10th year coaching at Clark. "I've had this little secret — nobody's really known that we've had these two rock star players. They've kind of underestimated us and their ability. This is the year they really stepped up and realized they have this potential to be great."
Behind Gambetta and Reyes, Clark is second in the Division I-A Sunset League with an 11-5-0 (7-3-0) record with five games remaining. The pair has had a lot to do with it, accounting for 46 of the team's 60 goals (76.7 percent).
For Gambetta and Reyes, the success and on-field chemistry displayed over the past four years didn't come overnight.
"We played club together in seventh and eighth grade," Reyes said. "We just came here and played our hardest. And as soon as everyone else saw that they had a chance, they improved themselves, too. We brought more hope and experience."
Reyes, who has 66 goals and 34 assists in her career, has recently taken on a new role to provide her team more balance.
Since leading the team in goals as a freshman and sophomore, she has taken a backseat to the emerging Gambetta. She still continues to makes her mark, however, as she's contributed 13 goals and 11 assists this season.
"They both bring different things to the table," Case said. "Their freshman years, they were both scoring a lot. Ari kind of stepped back and took more of the role of distributing and making sure the whole team got involved. And Darian really stepped up in the goal-scoring aspect. It's really cool to watch both of them play together. … Darian has that more aggressive mindset. Ari has it, but she's more of a distributor. She sees the field and what's going on a little bit more and likes to distribute."
Gambetta, who has 83 goals and 29 assists in four years, isn't just a star on the soccer field. She's enrolled in the school's Academy of Mathematics, Science and Applied Technology magnet program and is the student body president.
"It's just a lot of balancing and working things out," Gambetta said. "I had to have a little meeting at the beginning of the school year between Coach Case and my (student council) adviser. But I've been doing it since I was really little. I've always been involved in all those things."
The way both girls carry themselves off the field has rubbed off on the entire team. For the first time in their four years, no one has been hit by ineligibility because of grades.
"We haven't had anybody on grade check like we've had the last couple of years," Reyes said. "I'm really proud of them. They're doing their best and also improving as players."
Case said it will be tough to replace her star players once they graduate, but they already have done their part in setting the foundation.
"I hope it sets a bar where other players recognize the greatness that can be at Clark," Case said. "I've seen, even since they were freshmen, more club players come out that I haven't had in the past. More and more talent is coming."
Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson
