State soccer brackets revealed
San Luis boys, Kofa girls, Gila Ridge boys/girls, YC boys/girls learn 1st-round draws
Six local soccer teams learned their first-round state tournament draws Friday with the release of the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s 3A-6A brackets.
At the 6A level, San Luis’ boys and Kofa’s girls — fresh off play-in round victories — will travel to No. 7 North and No. 5 Hamilton, respectively, next week.
In 4A, Gila Ridge’s boys will kick off their postseason as the No. 5 seed against No. 12 Sunrise Mountain. The Hawks’ girls, seeded 16th, will face a road game at No. 1 Flagstaff.
Yuma Catholic’s boys also will be at home, earning 3A’s No. 2 seed and a first-round game against No. 15 River Valley. The Shamrocks’ girls, meanwhile, will hit the road as the No. 11 seed against No. 6 Anthem Prep.
The first round for girls will be played next Tuesday, followed by the boys first round on Wednesday.
Here is a closer look at the six local qualifiers and their draws:
San Luis boys (6A) Seed: No. 10
First round: at No. 7 North (Wed.) The Sidewinders (10-3-1 AIA), the lone remaining local 6A boys team, are coming off a 3-0 victory over No. 23 Maryvale in the play-in round. This is their 15th straight state appearance in as many all-time seasons, and in nine of those years they reached at least the quarterfinals.
North (10-1-1), which a year ago knocked out Kofa in 6A’s play-in round, has won seven straight since tying Cibola, 0-0, on Jan. 5. The Mustangs’ lone regular-season loss came to 5A opponent Carl Hayden, and three of their most recent wins — 5-1 over No. 12 Trevor G. Browne, 2-1 over No. 13 Corona del Sol and 1-0 over Maryvale — came against 6A postseason qualifiers.
As far as familiarity with one another goes, first-year San Luis coach Jesus Rojas remembers North not-sofondly — his senior year with the Sidewinders, in 2009, his team was knocked out of state by the Mustangs in the 5A Division II quarterfinals.
The San Luis-North winner will face the winner of No. 2 Desert Vista vs. No. 15 Hamilton in the quarters.
Gila Ridge boys (4A) Seed: No. 5
First round: vs. No. 12 Sunrise Mountain (Wed.) The Hawks (9-2-1 AIA) were the only local 6A/4A team to avoid Thursday’s play-in round. This is their third straight (and third all time) postseason appearance; a year ago, they reached the 4A semifinals.
Sunrise Mountain (11-2), meanwhile, is coming off a 10-0 trouncing of No. 20 Pueblo Magnet in the play-in round. During the regular season, the Mustangs played the least difficult schedule of any team in 4A and lost to the only two 4A postseason qualifiers they faced — 2-1 against No. 2 Greenway, and 4-2 to No. 13 Metro Tech.
The Gila Ridge-Sunrise Mountain winner will face the winner of No. 4 Douglas vs. No. 13 Metro Tech in the quarters.
Yuma Catholic boys (3A) Seed: No. 2
First round: vs. No. 15 River Valley (Wed.) The Shamrocks (12-0 AIA) just completed their fourth undefeated regular season in five years, and did so in dominating fashion (93 goals for, 1 goal against). They are the three-time defending small-school state champs, and have won it all six times in their 17-year history. River Valley ended the regular season with a 7-4 record. The YC-River Valley winner will face the winner of No. 7 NFL Yet vs. No. 10 Empire in the quarters. The Shamrocks beat NFL Yet, 2-0, just this week.
Kofa girls (6A) Seed: No. 12
First round: at No. 5 Hamilton (Tue.) The Kings (8-4-1 AIA) picked up a dramatic play-in round victory over No. 19 Sandra Day O’Connor on Thursday, winning in a penalty kick shootout (5-4) after regulation/overtime ended with the score tied at 1-1. It was only the program’s second-ever postseason win in 10 all-time appearances; in 2013, Kofa reached the 5A quarterfinals.
Hamilton (7-2-3 AIA), which last year was the 6A tournament’s
top overall seed but suffered a quarterfinals exit, enters this year’s tournament fresh off a 1-0 victory over then-No. 1 Perry.
The Kofa-Hamilton winner will face the winner of No. 4 Desert Vista vs. No. 13 Gilbert in the quarters.
Gila Ridge girls (4A) Seed: No. 16
First round: at No. 1 Flagstaff (Tue.) The Hawks (7-6 AIA), making their first-ever state tournament appearance, got here by upsetting No. 10 Walden Grove, 1-0, in Thursday’s play-in round. They’ll be up against a Flagstaff team (12-0) that reached the 4A semifinals a year ago and this regular season outscored its opponents 109-6 collectively.
The Gila Ridge-Flagstaff winner will face the winner of No. 8 Thunderbird vs. No. 9 Sunrise Mountain in the quarters.
Yuma Catholic girls (3A) Seed: No. 11
First round: at No. 6 Anthem Prep (Tue.) The Shamrocks (11-0-1 AIA) did not lose in the regular season, but a weak schedule — rated the weakest in the state — factored into their lower seed. This is their sixth consecutive state appearance; three of those years, they went one-and-done.
Anthem Prep (9-2) started the season with eight consecutive wins before dropping two of its last three — both to 3A state qualifiers (5-1 to No. 3 Veritas Prep, 3-2 to No. 7 Northwest Christian).
The YC-Anthem Prep winner will face the winner of No. 3 Veritas Prep vs. No. 14 Thatcher in the quarters.