Bulldogs’ practice pays off

In practice Tuesday, Centennial girls soccer coach Emmanuel Ayim had his team work on nothing but set pieces for half an hour.

It paid off Wednesday with a Class 4A Southern Nevada championship.

Junior forward Sophie Krauza scored on a header off a corner kick from senior midfielder Julie Owens in the 69th minute to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 win over Coronado at Bettye Wilson Park.

It’s the second straight Southern Nevada title and fourth in the past seven years for Centennial (18-2-1).

“Corner kicks, we work on that frequently,” Ayim said. “We believe you can win or lose games on set pieces. And we had a set piece and we put it away.”

Krauza credited Owens, who has signed with UNLV, with putting the ball on target.

“Julie’s corner kicks are amazing,” Krauza said. “To get it in was amazing.”

Centennial sophomore goalkeeper Gretchen Mikulich made the goal stand up with a four-save shutout.

Coronado (16-2-2) suffered its first loss since a 1-0 defeat at Palo Verde on Dec. 11.

“We had our opportunities,” Cougars coach Dana Neel said. “Yes, I wish we would have scored, but I’m absolutely not disappointed in my girls.”

Only two weeks ago, Centennial thought its season had ended with a 3-0 loss to Arbor View in the Sunset Region semifinals.

But the Bulldogs got a second chance March 3, when the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association reshuffled the bracket in the wake of Shadow Ridge forfeiting a Jan. 28 game against Legacy for using an ineligible player.

That forfeit altered the Northwest League standings and, in turn, seedings for the playoffs after games had already been played.

“We didn’t ask for it,” Krauza said of the second chance. “I was just getting over our loss to Arbor View when I heard about it. But to get a second chance, we took full advantage of it and repeated our title.”

No state championship will be contested this season because Northern Nevada plays girls soccer during the fall. The NIAA has voted three times to move Clark County School District girls soccer to the fall, but the move was blocked before this season by a Title IX lawsuit filed against the NIAA by the parent of a Green Valley volleyball and soccer player.

Both Ayim and Krauza wished they could have had a shot at Northern champion Reed.

“Absolutely,” Ayim said. “The NIAA is our governing body; we have to abide by their decisions. But at the same time, sure, it’d be nice to play the Northern champion.”

Krauza added: “We’d take on anyone if we could and make it a full Nevada championship, but that’s not in our hands, so we’ll take the Southern title twice.”

Since the advent of the split 4A titles in 2001-02, no one has won more crowns than Centennial. Reed has three, and Palo Verde and Galena have two apiece.

That’s a sweet feeling for Krauza.

“It blows past the (2008) one,” she said. “Just to repeat is amazing. We worked so hard, and we took advantage of the second chance, for sure.”

Ayim pointed to a renewed focus on defense after the Arbor View loss as a key in the championship run.

Among the changes was dropping Utah signee Ashley Mosley from midfield to defense.

“After the loss against Arbor View, we refocused and placed a lot of emphasis on defense,” he said. “We made some changes, and it has paid dividends. Our defense really brought it together.”

Neel was surprised her team got burned by a corner kick.

“The ironic thing is, one of our strengths is our set pieces,” she said. “And that’s kind of how we got beat.”

Ayim said the game going to overtime crossed his mind but that he felt the Bulldogs’ focus on set pieces would pay off.

“With the kind of offense we had all season, I had the confidence that one of those headers would go in,” he said. “And thankfully, it did.”

Centennial will lose seven seniors, including its two Division I signees.

Coronado must replace nine seniors, including forward/midfielder Veronica Subu.

Subu, who took Southeast League Most Valuable Player honors, will continue her career at New Mexico State.

But the Cougars will return star defender Leticia Lopez and forward Melissa Subu.

“We’re happy with what we did this season,” Neel said. “Watch out for us next year.”