Most prep soccer teams in the state play between 18 and 20 regular-season matches. That fact won’t change this year. What is changing is the importance of some matches vs. others.

For the first time — due to a new Arizona Interscholastic Association rule — regular-season tournament games will not count toward a team’s power-point standing. Most teams play about 16 regular-season matches and in two tournaments, where they could play three to five matches per tourney.

In the past, all matches were factored into the power points, with the top 16 teams, based on those points, advancing to the state tournament.

This season, only matches played outside of tournaments will count.

Coaches seem to be split on the new format.

“I don’t think it will matter,” Chandler High School boys coach Jeff Green said. “The best teams will do enough to get in. It’s our job to make sure we do enough to get in. If you are percentage points away then you didn’t do enough.”

Others, like Tempe Corona del Sol High School girls coach Matt Smith are not so accommodating.

“It’s the stupidest thing. Not counting half your games?” Smith said. “We play every game to win so it doesn’t matter much to us.”

“I don’t know why we needed to fix something if it wasn’t broken,” Mesa Dobson High School girls coach Greg Johnson said. “I think sometimes they (AIA) make changes without any rhyme or reason.”

Coaches said the rule change was made to bring soccer in alignment with how the power-point systems works for other sports. Some just wonder why they weren’t asked for their thoughts.

“I think it’s probably a good thing, but I know I wasn’t asked for any input,” Scottsdale Saguaro High School boys coach Alan Veale said. “I was just told this is how it’s going to be.”

Coaches see the advantages to the new system. They can rest starters at tournament games who may have otherwise needed to play. They can use different players during tournaments, giving more people more playing time.

Where some see an advantage, others see a problem.

“If you go into a match knowing it doesn’t count, or not matter as much as other matches, how do you play that to the kids who are going to play?” Smith said. “You going to tell them, 'This match doesn’t matter so that’s why you’re playing?’ You can’t do that.”

One advantage to the rule is the fact not all teams have the opportunities to play in large tournaments — such as last week’s Tempe Diablo tourney or the annual Dobson Mustang tournament. The teams not invited to those tournaments are no longer penalized, or left trying to make up points other teams accumulated in those matches.

But according to Veale, not only has the rule watered down regular-season tournaments, it has eliminated region tournaments. In years past, the top two or three teams from each region qualified for the state tournament. Now those tournaments have been eliminated.

“The only thing that could happen there were injuries,” Veale said. “Those tournaments used to mean everything.”

Green said a big advantage to the new rule is teams can do their own calculations and know where they stand.

AIA rules are generally set for two years, so coaches can use this season to adjust if need be. But most share Johnson’s attitude.

“It is what it is,” he said. “You learn to deal with it.”

Contact writer: (480) 898-5904 (Ext. 4) or tribsoccer@yahoo.com