THURSDAY: 6A SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS Chaparral girls secure 3-peat

Brophy beats Hamilton for boys championship

The Scottsdale Chaparral girls soccer team won its third straight state title on a rainy Thursday night, topping unbeaten Gilbert Perry 2-1 in the conference 6A final.

"The impact (from the weather) is more mental than anything. It's really cold and really wet," Chaparral back Keeley Bond said. "But we try and lift each other up and remember that we're all in this together."

Entering the state title showdown, Perry had only given up one goal all season, and that was back in late November. But 23 minutes into the game, Bond made her way up the pitch into the Perry box and scored the only goal of the half.

Bond played club soccer her first three years of high school, so playing in the state title game was a first for her.

"I was really glad I played senior year. I thought that would be a good way to end my (high school) career," Bond said. "And to end it like this is the cherry on top."

Perry had a few chances to score in the second half, but the weather made it difficult for both teams to control the ball for long enough stretches. But Bond was able to score again, this time on a corner kick, to put the game away.

"Set pieces are huge in a game like this," Chaparral coach Robyn Carlson said. "We practice them a lot. Sometimes they don't capitalize, but tonight they did."

"We had a pretty tough schedule, which really helped us in the end," Carlson added. "They have a great goalkeeper, and we have a great team, too, so we just kept at it."

Perry broke the shutout bid on a goal by Mikella Reed in the final minute. – Nathaniel Fain

Brophy Prep defeats Hamilton for boys title

Top-seeded Phoenix Brophy Prep defeated rival and No. 3 seed Chandler Hamilton in the 6A title match 3-0 on Thursday at Campo Verde High School.

This win comes after Brophy's devastating loss in the state championship last year to Phoenix Desert Vista.

What changed this year was Brophy's impressive junior class. Logan Abele and Francesco Montanile both scored goals in the title, and keeper Nathaniel Kobbs earned the shutout.

Abele's late first-half goal gave his team the momentum that carried into the second half.

“That just lifted our spirits, especially being on defense, it’s a lot of mental work that has to go in to be able to defend some of the top players in the state," junior defender Anthony Hidalgo said. "Once we got that goal, it was a big sigh of relief, and after that we had to keep going and building on and building on. Everything just kept going our way after that.”

Indeed it did. Brophy's offense dominated in the second half with goals by senior Carson Edwards and Montanile.

Brophy finished the season 19-3-2 while Hamilton ended 20-4.