Connor Worley is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Northwest Christian for AZPreps365.com.

Fastened to a chain link fence above the public address booth at Northwest Christian’s soccer field hangs a square, black banner.

Printed on the fabric is a Memoji of a white, gray-haired man boasting an effervescent smile and a thumbs-up.

It’s a cartoon likeness of girls soccer coach Jeff Penzone. 

Funnily enough, he doesn’t know how it got there or who put it there. In fact, nobody on the team is entirely sure who the perpetrator is, though it’s suspected the assistant coaches played a role.

“We came out one day for a game and looked up there and we were all like, ‘What is that? Oh, wait, that's Penzone!’,” said Cara Eubank, a senior forward.

All that’s certain is what the Memoji represents. 

Penzone’s Memoji is notorious among his players. It’s his go-to reply for any affirmations, confirmations or quick conclusions to his texts.

“He responds very short,” laughed Whitney Wilson, a senior defender. “If you say something and he's done with the conversation, he'll just send you that.”

The mysterious Memoji banner is just one example of the close-knit bond that Penzone, his staff and players have cultivated this season on their way to a 12-0 record and an automatic bid in the 3A state tournament. 

Penzone, who is in his seventh season as head coach, has reached the postseason each year and led the Crusaders to their first 3A state title in the 2018-19 season.

The memoji of coach Penzone located above the PA booth. Penzone is in his 17th season at Northwest Christian, having coached boys soccer for 10 seasons. (Connor Worley photo/AZPreps365)

Like most coaches, Penzone encourages his players to play with confidence and swagger. More importantly to him, however, he emphasizes playing with humility and heart. This has manifested itself in the team’s theme this year: “Love Does.”

“It's Proverbs 17:17,” Penzone said. “We know that love is sacrifice, love is selfless, love is humble, love is always giving of yourself and not expecting anything in return. They have really embraced that.”

“Love Does” has rooted itself in the fabric of the team. At the end of practices, players go around sharing their interpretations of what “Love Does'' through personal experiences and anecdotes. 

The theme has served as guidance and motivation to play with that combination of confidence and humility.

“[God] gave us that drive to keep working,” said Rachel Cooning, a senior midfielder. “And we're not doing it for ourselves. We're doing it for our teammates and God because he gave us this opportunity.”

Senior forward Ella Kamp noted that teams in years past haven’t been quite as close, but “Love Does” has helped change that this season.

“I think we've all realized like, OK, if we work together and we play for each other, we can go a lot further than if we were just playing for ourselves,” Kamp said.

Another way the team demonstrates the “Love Does” theme is through Secret Sister gift exchange. At the beginning of the season, each player is assigned a “sister” from a different grade. For games and road trips, they’ll exchange notes or gifts like stuffed animals and snacks.

“I think it's one reason why we also are very close within grades,” Eubank said.

Junior forward Brooke Hausmann looks to pass the ball in a 15-0 win against Bourgade Catholic on Feb. 12. (Connor Worley photo/AZPreps365)

The newfound chemistry displayed itself all season on the pitch. Northwest Christian scored 117 goals this year, while allowing just four. They averaged 9.75 goals per game. 

Eubank knew the group had a chance to be special from the consistency and intensity of preseason practices.

“The fact that they were all willing to come out here way before the season even started and just kind of get touches on the ball was something that was really eye-opening for what we were going to have in front of us,” she said.

The Crusaders’ dominance emanates from their aggressive mentality on both sides of the ball. 

Forwards like Kamp, Eubank and sophomore Ellie Johannes are constantly pressing, angling for gaps in the defense and using dribbling skills to work their way into shot opportunities. 

The result is a nearly 9.5 average margin of victory this season.

“I think we score a lot of goals because we're so persistent,” Cooning said. “Like every game we think, ‘Oh, we could possibly not have a next game [because of COVID-19].’ So we just try to keep putting up goals.”

“Or someone could break our streak, but we don't want that,” Wilson added.

Penzone noted that moving Wilson from midfield to the back line and junior Makenzi Wisely to the sweeper spot has solidified their defense and prevented opposing offenses from maintaining control of the ball on their side of the field.

“Makenzi does a great job and cleans up. She tracks really well and she closes really great on people,” Penzone said. “Whitney still pushes in [to midfield], which gives us a whole other option coming out of the back, which has been great.”

The Crusaders will enter the playoffs, which begin on March 10, aiming to rectify last year’s 4-3 loss to American Academy Leadership - Gilbert North in the quarterfinals. Northwest Christian entered that match undefeated and hungry for back-to-back titles before its defense fell apart.

“Gilbert North had some real good forwards. We struggled to contain them and they took advantage of it,” Penzone said.

Penzone believes that loss opened the entire team’s eyes to avoid complacency, while staying competitive and focused on improving each day.

The bonds and relationships forged in practice have built a solid foundation of trust that shows up every time they step on the field, regardless of the moment.

“No matter what happens, we got each other's backs,” Eubank said. “Win or lose, we're still a family, and we're still a team and nothing's gonna change that.”

With confidence and humility at the forefront, Northwest Christian is ready to reclaim the state championship title.