Patagonia Union High School will not field a soccer team for the 2024 season due to a shortage of student-athletes.
Patagonia High athletic director Nate Porter said the team was well short of the minimum of 11 players needed for a soccer team—and that figure doesn’t account for substitutions, injuries or other absences.
Patagonia had the smallest enrollment of any Arizona school fielding a soccer team in 2023, but the Lobos nonetheless managed to pull off three victories.
“Very disappointing, very frustrated,” Porter said. “(Soccer)’s always a challenge with our enrollment. When you’ve only got between 70 and 80 kids it’s tough. You have to find sports where you don’t need a whole lot of athletes.”
Soccer is the only sport available for male athletes in the fall. Porter said the school would send out a survey next spring to gauge interest for restarting the team in 2025.
“I’m a little pessimistic about that, seeing where we were this year,” he said. “The middle school struggled to get a team last year, so I don’t know if there’s enough incoming players. We might try to do cross country.”
Porter said the girls volleyball program is in good shape for the start of its season on Aug. 28. The school offers boys and girls basketball in the winter, and baseball and tennis in the spring.
“Volleyball’s doing great,” he said. “I have high hopes for volleyball this year.”
