SUNRISE REGION: Dragons oust Wildcats on penalty kicks

Many high school soccer coaches hate to see a game decided by penalty kicks.

Del Sol’s John Britt thinks it’s the perfect way to finish.

The Dragons eliminated two-time defending state champion Las Vegas 3-1 on penalty kicks in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals Tuesday at Bettye Wilson Park.

“We’ve been practicing that many, many times,” Britt said. “And I said many, many times, what a perfect situation to be in. And when it happened, I just started smiling. It was meant to be.”

The teams were tied 1-1 through regulation and two 15-minute overtime periods, but the shootout belonged to Del Sol.

Ricardo Flores, Jose Osorio and Roberto Perez each nailed a penalty kick for the Dragons (12-4-2), but Las Vegas was far less efficient.

The Wildcats (7-4-7) missed three of their four attempts, and Del Sol goalkeeper Gerardo Mendoza didn’t lay a finger on any of them.
Las Vegas had one shot hit the right post, one hit the crossbar and one sail over the crossbar.

“To beat the two-time state champions, I’m getting goose bumps right now,” Britt said. “I hope I don’t start crying.”

The Dragons took a 1-0 lead at the half when Osorio tapped home a goal after Perez’s shot went off the post.

Las Vegas pushed the pace in the second half and controlled the ball for much of the half but missed on many opportunities. The

Wildcats finally tied the game when Gilberto Franco-Martinez found Estevan Benavides inside the box and Benavides put his shot inside the right post with 16 minutes left in the half.

“There were times that we were in trouble, but my kids stuck together,” Britt said. “That’s what we’ve been doing all year.”

Del Sol plays Silverado in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Thursday. Desert Pines plays Tech in the other semifinal at 6.

Silverado 2, Valley 1 — Chase Leaders scored twice as the Skyhawks (8-4-4) eliminated the Northeast League champion Vikings (10-2-6).

Both goals came on assists from Devin Diego.

Leaders scored in the eighth minute and then scored in the fourth minute of the second half to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 advantage.

Valley’s Tony Velasquez scored on a penalty kick with about 15 minutes to play to cut the lead in half. But the Skyhawks, the Southeast League’s No. 4 seed, were able to hold on.

“We don’t see ourselves as a (No.) 4 seed,” Silverado coach John Cwik said. “We had a bad second half (of league), there’s no doubt about it. But we were tied for first place at the turn. So we know what we’re capable of doing.

“And in a tournament, anybody can get hot. You saw the Giants get hot in baseball. It’s a matter of picking up five wins now.”

Desert Pines 1, Coronado 0 — Gerardo Romero scored off a corner kick in the 14th minute of overtime to lift the Jaguars (12-3-3) over the Cougars (12-2-7).

Desert Pines goalkeeper Angel Guzman had five saves to record the shutout.

Tech 2, Eldorado 1 — Jesus Herrera scored a pair of second-half goals as the Southeast League champion Roadrunners (14-1-4) rallied to down the Sundevils (9-9-1).

Herrera’s shot from 25 yards hit the bottom of the crossbar and went into the net with 19 minutes to play to tie the game.

Then with six minutes to play, Herrera redirected a ball from Salvador Garcia past the goalkeeper for the winner.

Eldorado’s Jesse Marta scored with nine minutes to play in the first half to give the Sundevils an early lead.