Crystal ball tabs Xavier Prep as 6A favorite

Authors

Les Willsey

Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com

Crystal ball tabs Xavier Prep as 6A favorite

February 1, 2017 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365

It's next to impossible to tag a favorite for the 6A girls state soccer tournament with a fistful of teams proving capable of winning it all during the just-concluded regular season.

Evidence from January results -- Xavier 2, Hamilton 1; Xavier 1, Perry 0; Desert Vista 1, Xavier 1; Perry 0, Hamilton 0; Hamilton 2, Desert Vista 1; Highland 1, Desert Vista 0; Desert Mountain 2, Xavier 2; Pinnacle 1, Desert Mountain 0.

However, that can go with the territory when previewing a tournament. Here's a look at the prime contenders, some that could make a run and others who shouldn't be taken for granted.

Wednesday (Feb. 1) first-round matches are: #16 Desert Ridge at #1 Hamilton; #9 Corona del Sol at #8 Highland; #12 Rincon at #5 Desert Vista; #9 Sandra Day O'Connor at #8 Desert Mountain; #14 Chandler at #3 Millennium; #11 Gilbert at #6 Perry; #10 Tucson a t #7 Pinnacle and #15 Mesa Mtn. View at #2 Xavier Prep.

Quarterfinals follow on Saturday Feb. 4, semifinals Wednesday Feb. 8 and title match on Saturday Feb. 11. The first two rounds are at the site of the high seed and semis and final are at Campo Verde High School.

FAVORITE: #2 seed Xavier Prep (10-1-3) -- Not much separates the top contenders, but because the Gators have no losses to Arizona schools they get the nod. They won the rigorous Premier Region title competing against Hamilton, Perry, Chandler and Basha. Xavier is led by junior forward Abby Hubbard (22 points), including four game-winning goals; sophomore forward Kyhla Ferry (31 points, 13 goals; senior Quiqui Hita (17 points) and junior defender Nicole Hook. Xavier is 5-0-3 against opponent that qualified for the tournament. The Gators have allowed 11 goals.

CAN WIN IT ALL: #1 seed Hamilton (14-3-3) -- The Huskies are led by senior captains Jessica Wong, and Emma Robson (midfielder/defenders) and junior forward Sammi Atterbury. Atterbury has 13 goals and 10 assists. Hamilton was 6-2-1 against state-tourney qualifiers. The Huskies split two games with defending champion Desert Vista -- one a power-point match and the other the title match of the Arizona Showcase. #5 seed Desert Vista (18-3-1) -- The Thunder, defending state champs, were the favorite to win the Central Region, but a loss to Highland two weeks ago ended up costing them the title. Desert Vista played more than half its schedule against state tournament qualifiers and posted a 7-3-1 record in those. Top players are senior forward Carly Bych (11 goals), senior midfielder and captain Paige Maling (10 goals, 7 assists) and Isabel Deutsch senior defender and set-piece leader. #6 seed Perry (19-2-1) -- After opening the season with a 1-0 loss to Desert Mountain, the Pumas reeled off 19 wins in a row and were in the thick of the Premier Region title race. They were denied by Xavier, who ended the win streak with a 1-0 victory. Perry closed the season with a 0-0 tie with Hamilton. Perry's two losses and tie are to the No. 1-2-4 seeded teams. Perry is 9-2-1 vs. state tournament qualifiers. Perry' standouts are junior midfielder Amanda Dahl (35 goals, 23 assists); swift senior forward Kiara Parker (20 goals, 19 assists) and back third players senior defender Rachel Wolter and junior keeper Makayla Aman. Perry has allowed seven goals this season.

BE WARY OF: #4 Desert Mountain (10-5-2) -- The Wolves tied Xavier and defeated Perry. Were 4-4-1 vs. state tournament qualifiers. Desert Mountain is led by senior keeper Sophia Lettieri (6 shutouts), senior defender Chanel Thomas and junior midfield Lauren Braxton. D-I semifinalist last season as senior-diominated squad seeks further advancement.. #3 Millennium (15-1-1) -- The Tigers have never missed qualifying for state, but also have never advanced past the second round. This year they were perfect in power-ranking matches (12-0) so they know about winning.Their loss was 6-0 to Perry in the Dobson Classic final and their tie to Red Mountain in the same tournament. Millennium is led by Naomi Aguilar (16 goals and 8 assists); versatile Kiana Miyazato (4 goals, 5 assists) and captain Sophie Horner (4 goals, 6 assists). A weak strength of schedule is something to note. #9 Corona del Sol (14-6) -- The Aztecs are offensive-minded with 74 goals. Perhaps the best to come down the pike at the school says longtime coach Matt Smith is junior forward Olivia Nguyen (21 goals and 16 assists). Junior Skylar Byrnes (16 goals, 8 assists) is a nice complement. Abby Robertson anchors the midfield and Nikki Hoey holds down the back line. Corona is 0-5 against top-10 seeds in the tournament.

DON'T DISMISS: #7 Pinnacle (11-3-5) -- A tie with #2 Xavier, wins over #4 Desert Mountain, #8 Highland and #9 Corona del Sol are good omens for the Pioneers, a perennial playoff contender. They also have losses to Millennium and Perry. Defense is the strength led by Carly Goehring and Jessica Kiefer. Offense resides with Amelia Junge and Brittany Buetel (11 goals each) and Ciara Bianchi (7 goals). #8 HIghland (10-7-2) -- The season began the season on the rocky side (5-6-2 through December), but it concluded with a Central Region title and 5-1 record in January. Coach Andy Barber said the Hawks took some early season losses while attempting to simplify their game. It seemed to work as players bought in. Highland is led by senior forward Morgan Lamb ( 7 goals, 7 assists), junior forward Madison Montgomery (8 goals, 9 assists) and shutdown sophomore defender Bryce Nimi. #11 Gilbert (11-8) -- Coach Ben Holzer is completing his 20ths season and this makes 13 playoff appearances in the last 14 years. Team is best in the back row -- Kenzie Baird, Carly Anderson , Audrey Balafas and Anna Bresadola. Ellie Neal is the Tigers leading scorer. Landed only win over region champ and rival Highland plus a play-in match victory over Mountain Ridge.