Impressive runs by Highland, Hamilton in 5A girls soccer

January 26, 2011 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


The Highland girls soccer team capped their regular season Tuesday edging rival Gilbert by a goal.

The Hawks won the 5A Central Region, no easy feat, and did so by running the table (6-0) in what is always a tough region. Five of the seven schools in the region are likely going to state next week.

On the verge of the same accomplishment is Hamilton's girls soccer team. The Huskies are 4-0 in 5A Fiesta Region play with a final region match Thursday against Desert Vista. Four of six  Fiesta teams (possibly five with Chandler on the bubble) are headed for state with Hamilton having beaten region contenders Xavier and Red Mountain by 1-0 margins. Hamilton has given up the paltry sum of three goals all season and currently is No. 1 in the 5A-I power rankings.

Winning those regions is tough. Going undefeated in doing so deserves kudos. Highland has crossed the regular-season finish line. Hamilton still has a difficult final leg to run to be outright Fiesta champs and avoid sharing the region title with Desert Vista and Xavier.