Salpointe notches its 10th state crown
Salpointe Catholic girls soccer rallied to win the 4A state championship for the third season in a row.
No. 2 Salpointe (15-2-1) upset No. 1 Walden Grove (19-2) 2-1 on Saturday at Tucson High School.
Walden Grove had beaten the Lancers 2-0 at Salpointe on Dec. 7.
“It feels great,” Salpointe coach Kelly Pierce said.
“Every year it feels different, and there’s different anxieties and stresses and emotions. But this one was really good just to let them get that back since they beat us earlier in the season.”
It’s the first real loss for the Red Wolves all season. They fell in penalty kicks to Tucson High in the Brandon Bean Soccer Tournament on Dec. 2. Earlier in the tourney they beat the Badgers 2-0.
Last year the Lancers eliminated the Red Wolves in the state semifinals by penalty kicks.
The title is Salpointe’s 10th, the second most all time behind only Phoenix Xavier College Prep, which has 13. The Lancers’ third straight championships is tied for the longest active streak with Xavier.
“It’s a really special team, special moment to end the season,” Salpointe senior Rylen Bourguet said.
Walden Grove, which opened in 2011, won the Division III state championship in 2015.
WG sophomore defender Madison Landman opened up the scoring with a goal in the eighth minute off an assist from freshman forward/midfielder Vivien Villarreal.
Then, in the 13th minute, Salpointe senior goalkeeper Jasmine Delgado saved a Walden Grove penalty kick from Villarreal.
“What was going through my mind is, ‘She’s a really good player. She had most of their shots for Walden.' And I was thinking it could go either way," Delgado said. "So I was just really focusing on her body positioning."
Pierced said the penalty save was huge.
“Jasmine has stepped up insanely well since we put her in, and she’s really peaked and been a stud,” Pierce said. “She had a couple good saves today.”
A couple of minutes later, Salpointe sophomore Cristina Conlon scored. Instead of being down 2-0, the Lancers had tied it up.
Bourguet scored the state-winning goal in the 65th minute off an assist from freshman Kassidy Sherfield.
“I happened to be in the right space at the right time. Itt doesn’t take much, just a tap,” Bourguet said. “It was a great, great pass from my outside winger, so I appreciate that; set me up perfect.”
Salpointe has nine freshmen on its roster.
Last season Salpointe and Walden Grove also split during the regular season. The Lancers beat the Red Wolves in 2021 in a non-region game. In 201920, they drew 1-1.
“I think everyone is out to get us every game; I feel like it’s (always) a rivalry for the other team,” Pierce said. "I think this season was huge because they’re a very talented team and have a lot of young girls that are goal scorers."
Salpointe ends the season on a 14 game unbeaten run and 12-game winning streak. The Lancers also snapped Walden Grove’s 15-game winning streak.