Originally posted to the web in Sports, on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 6:06 PM CST.
Soccer team begins state action Friday
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| The four top awards at the Wickenburg High School football banquet last week went to (left to right) Dallas Mills, Coaches’ Award; Drew Vaughan, Captain; Matt Deacon, Cowboy Award; and Lane Leavitt, Wrangler Award.
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After clinching the 3A-1A West Region championship last week, Wickenburg High School’s soccer team will begin its quest for a state championship this week.
The Wranglers, who won the West with an 11-1 record, will face 1A school Tanque Verde High from Tucson at 5:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 1) at the Tempe Sports Complex, 8401 S. Hardy Dr.
If they survive that first round, where they will be heavily favored, the Wranglers would play again at 2 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 2) at the same site against the winner of the first-round match between Fountain Hills and South Pointe.
Wickenburg’s only loss all season was a 3-2 overtime contest against two-time defending state champion Yuma Catholic, which finished in second place behind the Wranglers in the West Region. Coach Butch Poff’s Wranglers, however, avenged that earlier loss with a 2-1 victory against the Shamrocks later in the season. They had won all three of their contests in the Miami Tournament early in the season, so their season mark is 14-1.
Tanque Verde finished fourth in the South Region with a 5-7 record.
Fountain Hills, which finished second in the East Region this season with an 8-3 mark (12-4 for the season), should be favored in its first-round match Friday night against South Pointe, which finished third in the North Region with a 5-4 record (according to Maxpreps.com).
So Saturday’s semifinal match should pit the Wranglers against former West Region foe Fountain Hills.
A victory there would send the Wranglers into the state semifinals a week later (Friday, Feb. 8) at Paradise Valley High School.
That’s where they would likely face South Region champion Safford, which finished the 2007-08 regular season with a 7-1 region record and a 12-1 overall mark. That match-up is scheduled for 7 p.m. … and the winner advances to the state championship game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Arizona State University Soccer Stadium.
The other expected semifinal match-up would pit North Region champion Northwest Christian (12-0 in region and 19-1 overall) against East Region titlist Valley Christian (14-0 in region and 20-2 overall). However, Yuma Catholic will be defending its state title in that bracket and could face Valley Christian in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The Wranglers clinched the West Region title last week with a 2-1 overtime victory at Antelope, which finished third in the region standings and will open state playoff action against South Region runner-up Pusch Ridge Christian of Tucson Friday evening.
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