SUNSET REGION: Aggies start over, cruise
The Arbor View girls soccer team had every excuse to be resentful of its predicament Wednesday.
After originally reaching the championship match of the Class 4A Sunset Region tournament Feb. 26, the Aggies learned Tuesday they would have to start over in the quarterfinals.
The ruling was a byproduct of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association reshuffling the bracket in the wake of Shadow Ridge forfeiting a Jan. 28 match against Legacy for using an ineligible player.
Consequently, Shadow Ridge moved from second to third place in the Northwest League and Arbor View from third to second, and the playoff matchups changed.
But instead of hanging their heads Wednesday, the Aggies came to Bettye Wilson Park wearing smiles and laughing with one another. They left just as happy after thumping Durango, 5-0.
“As they were walking to the field, they were singing and having fun,” Arbor View coach Jay Howard said. “It scared me a bit, but in the end, it was a good sign.”
In the semifinals for the second time in two weeks, Arbor View (14-3-2) will meet Bishop Gorman (17-1-0) at 4 p.m. today.
“It’s disastrous that (the Aggies) even have to go through this,” Durango coach Barry Forget said. “It’s a farce.”
Arbor View piled up 24 shots and held Durango (9-8-1) without a shot on goal.
Bianca Norman and Erica Peeples scored two goals each for Arbor View, which got another from Gabby DeLeon.
Ashlea Andrade, Falon Miller and Mariah Ziegenbein assisted on the goals.
Arbor View goalkeepers Alex Luevano and Rachel Cook combined on the shutout.
Howard said his team was able to overcome the frustration of having to win three games in two weeks to reach the Sunset semifinals.
“It’s been so emotional for them these past few days,” Howard said. “They put it all behind them. Our girls, they took care of business in a good way.”
Durango, which originally was eliminated Feb. 24 with a 3-0 loss to Shadow Ridge, will lose five seniors.
“Considering our uniforms were turned in and we couldn’t practice because our spring teams were on the field, we put our team together and played hard,” Forget said. “The girls all year wanted to have a playoff game.
“The way it worked out, they got two.”
Shadow Ridge 4, Sierra Vista 1 — Rebecca Brown, Hailee Aragon, Kelsey Tesoro and Kelsey Priest scored to lead the Mustangs past the Mountain Lions.
Tesoro, Brown and Aragon also had assists.
Goalkeeper Megan Brown had eight saves for Shadow Ridge (13-3-3), which will meet Centennial (15-2-1) in the semifinals at 4 p.m. today.
The Mustangs originally eliminated Gorman 1-0 in double overtime in the semifinals Feb. 26.
“We just wanted to play on the field,” Shadow Ridge coach Harvey Robicheau said. “We don’t dwell on the past. The girls were loose.”
Alyssa Romero scored on a penalty kick for Sierra Vista (10-7-1).