SUNSET SOCCER: Palo Verde clears obstacle, ousts Gorman

Palo Verde boys soccer coach Kevin Hagood might have started to believe he’d never make it past the second round of the playoffs.

But when Austin Manthey’s penalty kick hit the net on Thursday, a weight lifted from the coach’s shoulders as the Panthers topped Bishop Gorman 4-2 on penalty kicks in the Sunset Region semifinals at Heritage Park. The game was tied 2-2 through regulation and two sudden-death overtime periods.

“It was just amazingly incredible,” Hagood said. “Never in my life have I seen something more deserving for a group of boys who have worked so hard. And for a program and a school that just year after year after year after year seems to run into this juggernaut.”

The Panthers (18-0-1) have made the Sunset Region tournament 15 straight years, but never advanced past the second round. Palo Verde had lost six times in the semifinals, three of those to Gorman, which beat the Panthers 3-2 in overtime in last season’s semifinals. The Gaels have eliminated Palo Verde from the playoffs six times.

“Just a lot of frustration came out right there,” Hagood said. “There’s never been a more deserving program and a group of kids. I’m just so proud of them. I told them this would be the hardest thing they’ve ever done in their lives, getting past this round.”

Gorman (10-3-2) went first in the shootout, and Sean Keith clanked his shot off the right post.

“That was a little bit of karma,” Hagood said. “Last year in the overtime we clanked one off the post in the first two minutes and it didn’t go our way. So life has a way of equaling things out, it seems like.”

Palo Verde goalkeeper Nishesh Yadav then dived to his right to deflect Jake Bickford’s next attempt, essentially giving the Panthers the edge in the shootout.

“When he saved that second PK, that’s well deserved,” Hagood said. “They don’t seem to give him much credit, but he sure did keep us in this game. He did a great job.”

Eli Ruffer, Nolan Sherwood and Austin Polster stepped up and made their shots before Manthey clinched it.

Sherwood’s goal four minutes into the second half tied the game, 2-2. Gorman had taken a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the first half when Keith hit Tristan Blackmon on a give-and-go, and Blackmon beat Yadav to the near post.

Sherwood scored earlier in the half to tie the game at 1-1. Gorman took the early lead when Jake Bickford was in front of the net to put home Jeremy Vitale’s long throw-in.

“We knew they’d be coming,” Hagood said. “We took their punches and we counter punched. It was just a great game.”

The Panthers will play Cimarron-Memorial (13-3-4) in the title game at noon Saturday for the title and a berth in next week’s Division I state tournament.

Cimarron-Memorial 1, Shadow Ridge 0 — Freshman Dresden Quackenbush scored with 17 minutes to play to give the Spatans the win over the Mustangs (10-6-7).

Quackenbush took a cross from Nico De La Torre near the top of the penalty box, turned to his right and fired a shot into the lower left corner.

“I just grabbed the ball, turned, and shot,” Quackenbush said.

Goalkeeper Richard Crews made seven saves to earn the shutout, including a spectacular stop of a Dominic Damato shot with five minutes to play. Damato made a long run through the defense and blasted a shot toward the lower right corner. Crews’ upper body was leaning away from the play, but he managed to get his right foot on the ball to poke it away.

“His body’s going left, and he’s saving with his right foot,” Cimarron coach Mark Bailey said. “Right place, right time maybe, but that kid was standing on his head as they say in hockey.”

The Spartans now sit one win away from their first trip to state since 1996.

“It’s amazing,” Quackenbush said. “This is my first year here, so I didn’t see it coming. It’s really surprising and really great.”