Southern Arizona Soccer Roundup: Walden Grove to face Rio Rico for shot at championship

February 8, 2015 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365


Walden Grove coach Carey Bauer.
(Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

Five teams from Southern Arizona have qualified to the semifinal round from the various divisional soccer playoffs and one is guaranteed a spot in the girl's Division III championship match.

Probably the best No. 5 team in the history of the girl's playoffs, Tucson Catalina Foothills has outscored opponents 12-1 through the first two rounds with the lone goal against them being recorded as an "own goal."

The Falcons defeated Avondale Agua Fria 7-1 Saturday at home to advance to the semifinal round against No. 1 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep. That match will be played Wednesday, Feb. 11 at Gilbert Williams Field High School at 7 p.m.

Sophomore Payton Maxwell has scored five goals in the postseason for the Falcons and senior standout Emily Parker has four.

Notre Dame qualified after defeating No. 9 Salpointe 1-0 at home. Notre Dame has struggled to get to this point with the first-round match decided by shots from the mark and then a lone-goal-victory over the Lancers.

No. 3 Tucson lost to No. 11 Gilbert Campo Verde 2-1 in overtime in their quarterfinal match at home. Pima College commit Yessenia Contreras scored on a penalty kick in the 6th minute to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead and that held up until senior forward Jacque Dompier tied things up in the 71st.

Campo Verde won the D-III state championship in 2013 as part of a magical 23-win season, lost to Tucson Sahuaro in the D-II quarterfinals last year in a wild game that went 7-6 in PKs and are now matched up against defending state champion No. 2 Buckeye Verrado in the semifinal round.

Junior defender Sebrina Rodriguez scored the winner over Tucson for Campo Verde in the 81st during overtime play.

In D-III play, No. 1 Sahuarita Walden Grove will play No. 4 Rio Rico in the semifinal round Tuesday. This matchup guarantees a championship spot from Southern Arizona.

To set up the match, Rio Rico junior standout Vero Cruz scored in the 64th minute (Ally Alvarez) in a game where the Hawks outshot No. 5 Scottsdale Prep 19-6.

Walden Grove has already defeated Rio Rico twice this year but it is always difficult to defeat a team three times but the Red Wolves are no stranger to dramatic finishes and their 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 8 Valley Christian was no different.

Junior Sarah Carrell combined with Isabella Solorza in the 11th minute to give Walden Grove a 1-0 lead. That held up until Keara Schromm tied the game up in the 50th.

Malia Vanisi scored the winning goal in the 77th minute.

On the boy's side, D-II Marana Mountain View and D-III Tucson Amphitheater will move on to the semifinal round.

Arguably one of the most organized teams on the pitch this year, Mountain View took care of No. 5 Notre Dame 2-0 in their quarterfinal match.

Sophomore Kenny Chacon scored in the 6th (Justin Stoermer) and Xaviar Estrada scored in the 35th (Jonny Bruss) to send Mountain View to a semifinal match against No. 1 Queen Creek next Thursday.

No. 3 Nogales lost to No. 11 San Luis 3-2 (PKs 4-3) in the other D-II match featuring Southern Arizona teams. Juan Pablo Segura gave the Apaches a 1-0 lead in the 7th minute but Cesar Moreno tied it up in the 17th.

Segura scored again in the 61st but San Luis tied it back up on an own goal in the 72nd, sending the game to extra play where they came out on top.

No. 9 Tucson Catalina ended their playoff run with a loss to No. 1 Yuma Catholic 4-1 in D-III play. Yuma Catholic led from the start.

The dramatic match in the division came between No. 2 Tucson Amphitheater and No. 7 Tucson Palo Verde with the Panthers coming out with the win 7-6 via shots from the mark.

Johnny Ramirez gave Palo Verde a 1-0 lead in the 13th (German Velazquez) and that lasted until Ruben Paredes tied things up in the 65th. Velazquez scored in extra time (92nd) but Abram Flores tied it up again on a penalty kick in the 97th.

Amphitheater overcame the disqualification of a player in the early portion of their season and now find themselves playing No. 6 Scottsdale Coronado in the semifinal round next Wednesday.