D-II boys soccer: No. 1 Queen Creek blanks San Luis for title

February 14, 2015 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


No. 1 seed Queen Creek survived some early salvos from No. 11 San Luis in Saturday afternoon's Division II boys soccer final. By the 10-minute mark of the first half, Queen Creek began delivering blows of its own. The Bulldogs would go on to tally three times over a 52-minute span in dealing San Luis a 3-0 defeat at Campo Verde High School.

Both schools were vying for their first boys soccer championship. San Luis played previously in one title game, losing in 2006 to Ironwood. Queen Creek now has a crown and it couldn't have made head coach Mauricio Ramirez happier after he saw his team get off to an uneasy start.

"It feels awesome, I'm just stunned," Ramirez said of the first title. "We picked up our intensity. Once we get one (goal), it just picked us up."

Queen Creek (16-3-2) got away from a rough beginning as San Luis (12-2-2) failed to convert  three chances in the first five to six minutes. The Bulldogs got the first boost of intensity in the 13th minute as the team's top two scorers and assist leaders -- seniors Jacob Dominguez and Benji Delgadillo -- combined for a 1-0 lead. Dominguez, fed Delgadillo, who got an open look and scored at the far post. Dominguez scored five goals and Delgadillo four of the 12 Queen Creek registered in postseason.

Queen Creek was outshot and lost the possession battle in the first half, but led at intermission by that 1-0 margin. Eight minutes in to the second half it was Dominguez again doing a lot of th work on his own with fancy footwork and zipping in a shot for a 2-0 edge.

San Luis top scorers -- seniors Cesar Moreno and Andres Elizalde -- had several chances throughout the match, but either missed or were denied by Queen Creek keeper Felix Amenda. The 2-0 lead became pretty much insurmountable as Dominguez added to his team lead in goals with a winner in the 65th minute. Delgadillo had the assist.

Ramirez wasn't happy with Queen Creek's defense early, feeling the Bulldogs weren't playing smart and got away with a lack of focus. For the tournament, however, Queen Creek's defense and keeper Amenda were not scored upon. Queen Creek blanked all four of its opponents -- Flagstaff (1-0), Cactus Shadows (5-0) and Marana Mountain View (3-0). None of the Bulldogs matches went to overtime or beyond. The shutout of San Luis was the only time this year the Sidewinders didn't score.

San Luis may have had the tallest order of any team in reaching the final. The Sidewinders traveled to Tucson in the first round, Nogales in the second and to Gilbert in the semis and final.