Coronado boys reclaim 5A region soccer title — PHOTOS
Good teams learn from their mistakes, and that was among the goals for the Coronado boys soccer team Saturday.
The Cougars looked unbeatable last year before falling to Palo Verde in the regional final, and they were determined not to let that happen again.
Mission accomplished.
Gavin Flickinger scored from 8 yards out midway through the first half, and top-seeded Coronado never looked back en route to a 3-0 home victory over No. 2 Palo Verde in the Class 5A Southern League final.
Both teams advance to the state tournament at Coronado. Palo Verde (14-6-3) will play Northern champion Hug at 8 a.m. Friday, and Coronado (26-0) will follow against Wooster at noon.
“We knew what happened last year,” said Cougars coach Dustin Barton, whose squad lost the regional final 4-3 in 2023. “We came out slow, and we fell asleep. This year we came out with energy from the start because we were not going to let that happen again. We’ve talked about it all year because it’s the only game we lost.”
Flickinger scored in the 18th minute, weaving his way from the outside in and launching an 8-yard shot just beyond the grasp of Palo Verde goalkeeper Landon Blanchard.
Coronado defeated Palo Verde in both regular-season meetings this year, with the second victory being a 7-0 blowout. With a 1-0 lead at halftime Saturday, Barton knew the chances would come.
“We just had to be patient and do what we do,” he said. “We knew we’d eventually get some goals.”
He was right, as Aiden Sena and Gavin Biddinger scored goals in three minutes apart midway through the second half to extend the lead to 3-0.
Flickinger had two assists in the game, Dylan Flores added an assist, and goalkeeper Logan Pierce logged his 19th shutout of the season.
With 158 goals to their credit the season, the defending state champion Cougars will enter the state tourney tied with North Tahoe (1999) for the most goals by a Nevada team in a single season.
“We are excited for state,” Barton said. “We want to stay undefeated.”
— No. 1M SLAM Academy 4, No. 1D Del Sol 0: At Cristo Rey, the Bulls (19-2) earned the Class 3A Southern Region title by rolling to a victory over the Dragons (12-5).
Both teams advance to the state semifinals Friday at Dayton.
Girls
— No. 1M Centennial 2, No. 3D Doral Academy 0: At Centennial, Skyley Mecham and Julianne Donnelly scored back-to-back goals early in the first half, and that was all the Bulldogs (21-0) needed for a win over the Dragons (17-5-1) and the 4A Southern Region title.
Alexandra Miranda and Natalie Penniston each added an assist.
Both teams advance to the state tournament. Centennial will play McQueen in the semifinals at 11 a.m. Friday at Cimarron-Memorial, and Doral Academy will follow against Northern champion Galena at 1 p.m.
— No. 1D Equipo 3, No. 1M SLAM Academy 1: At Cristo Rey, Briana Salguero scored two goals as the Yeti (25-3-2) defeated the Bulls (13-4-1) to win the 3A Southern Region championship. Zaylin De La Sancha also scored for Equipo.
Both teams advance to the state tournament Friday at Dayton.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
