San Luis gets another title shot, will face Perry
The semifinal matchups in the Arizona Interscholastic Association boys' high school soccer playoffs finished up on Tuesday, setting the stage for three championship games. Let's start with the 6A matchup.
6A championship
No. 5 Perry versus No. 2 San Luis, Saturday, 7 p.m., Dobson High School
Perry pulled of the upset and San Luis will get another chance at the 6A title after falling short two years ago.
While many expected No. 1 Tucson to be in the final, it was the No. 5 Perry Pumas that advanced as they upset the Badgers 5-3 in the semifinals. The five goals scored in the game was the most Perry has scored all tournament, according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
After missing the 6A playoffs last season, Perry entered the tournament as a team that could make a run at the trophy, and that they have. Their run has included wins over No. 12 Camelback, No. 4 Sunnyside and Tucson. They've proven that they can beat the best teams no matter where they play.
However, despite upending the No. 1 team in 6A, the Pumas will face a tough test in San Luis, a team from a school in the border town of the same name south of Yuma that has been one of the top ranked teams in 6A all season The Sidewinders entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. They defeated No. 15 North in the first round and No. 7 Pinnacle in the second round before a heavily anticipated semifinal matchup against perennial power No. 3 Brophy, which defeated San Luis for the 6A championship in 2021. This time, San Luis downed Brophy 1-0 to advance to the championship game.
"The fact that were getting to another final, that's what is really exciting," said Sidewinders head coach Jesus Rojas. "The fact that it was Brophy just made it a little better, because they're one of, if not the best program in the state. That helped us prove ourselves that we can do a lot with what we have."
San Luis has been the best in 6A at defending. Including tournament games, the Sidewinders (13-0 regular season) have only given up four goals all season. This also includes a current nine-game clean sheet streak according to AIA. For Coach Rojas, the success to the Sidewinders backline has been the leadership of the players.
"The leadership they have is a natural talent," said Rojas. "Erick Quirarte, the captain of the team and the vocal leader, Israel Uribe, together they are amazing. They are able to organize the whole defense and talk to each other and make the best decisions."
The key for Perry to win is to break the impenetrable San Luis backline. The Pumas attack did a marvelous job in their semifinal matchup against Tucson, and they must keep that momentum going forward into the championship. For San Luis, they must defend at the high levels they've been defending at throughout the whole season. When given chances, Perry can strike, but the Sidewinders have done nothing to suggest that their defense is suddenly vulnerable.
5A championship
No. 3 Horizon versus No. 1 Ironwood, Saturday, 2 p.m., Dobson High School
No. 1-seed Glendale Ironwood comes into this championship match undefeated in the season. They downed No. 16 Mountain View Marana and No. 9 Scottsdale Chaparral fairly easily in the first and second rounds but had a tougher time with No. 12 Yuma Kofa in the semifinals, winning 3-2.
Now, they will face Horizon, the only team they faced but didn't defeat during regular season AIA games. Ironwood finished 11-0-1, but ended with a 2-2 OT draw against the Huskies.
The Huskies beat a gritty No. 14 Metro Tech team in the first playoff round 3-2, followed up by a 3-1 win over No. 11 Centennial in the second round, a team that upset No. 6 Catalina Foothills in the first round. In the semifinals, they played against two-time defending 5A champions No. 7 Casteel, which got the better of the Huskies last season in their 5A second round matchup according to MaxPreps. This season, the Huskies downed the Colts 2-0.
Ironwood has scored at least three goals in all of their tournament games, and they must keep it up to defeat a solid Horizon defense.
4A championship
No. 2 Saguaro versus No. 1 Salpointe Catholic, Friday, 7 p.m., Glendale High School)
This is the only championship game out of the four largest AIA conferences (6A-3A) to have the title game feature the top two ranked teams in their conference.
It's safe to say both teams deserve their spot in the championship. No. 2 Scottsdale Saguaro has looked the part, trouncing all three of their tournament opponents by a combined goal total of 13 while only giving up two. This includes a very impressive 4-1 semifinal win over No. 3 Barry Goldwater.
The Sabercats are on a 13-game winning streak, but they will face their toughest test yet No. 1 Tucson Salpointe Catholic.
The teams play in different regions and did not face each other in the regular season.