SUNSET REGION: Arbor View breezes past Bengals with second-half push

Sure, the Aggies led underdog Bonanza 2-1 in their Sunset Region quarterfinal at Heritage Park, but the Bengals had a small handful of chances to tie the score and put a lot of pressure on the Northwest League’s top seed.

And suddenly Amberly Halstead and Bailee Davis allowed everyone to take a deep breath.

Halstead’s pass up the right sideline set up Davis for a low blast on the right side of the goal, giving the Aggies some insurance and setting the stage for a 4-1 victory over Bonanza.

“That helped us settle down,” said Arbor View coach Jay Howard. “I think it took the wind out of Bonanza, too.”

The Aggies (11-4) never trailed, scoring first on Chandler Yoder’s penalty kick in the 19th minute, but the Bengals found the equalizer off the foot of Kara Kwasniowski in the 32nd minute.

Just four minutes later, Jamie Wilson put the Aggies back ahead, knocking home a pass from Lexi Eply.

The Bengals (3-6-2) didn’t go away and had chances from deep inside Aggie territory, but simply couldn’t steer the ball on net.

Goalkeeper Sami Haieck kept Bonanza in the match, stopping seven of Arbor View’s first nine shots on goal before Davis’ marker made it 3-1.

Halstead set up Alexis Pryor for the fourth goal eight minutes later.

“This is a team that has gotten better as the year has gone along,” Howard said. “We played well today. Bonanza played well, too. They made it a tough match.”

Arbor View advances to play Bishop Gorman (9-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Bishop Gorman 3, Shadow Ridge 0 — Daisy Cabrera scored twice in the final 11 minutes of the first half as the Gaels eliminated the Mustangs (11-3-1).

Gorman broke a scoreless tie just past the midway point of the first half when Madison Moore controlled a loose ball after a scrum off a Gaels’ corner kick and ripped a low shot into the net.

Shadow Ridge goalkeeper Dallas Gunny got caught out of position and was backing into the goal after the ball ricocheted off three players.

Cabrera then took care of the rest, scoring in the 29th minute and ripping a left-footed shot from 25 yards out with three minutes left in the half.

Jessica Anaya made three saves for Gorman before giving way to teammate Danielle Maatouk with 10 minutes left in the match.

Palo Verde 4, Desert Oasis 0 — Serenity Grim had two goals and two assists as the Panthers (11-3-1) dominated the Diamondbacks (7-6-4).

Grim fed a pass up the right sideline to set up Lana Laudermilch’s goal just 13 minutes into the match and added her first goal with nine minutes left in the first half.

The Panthers had chances to extend the lead prior to halftime, and missed a golden opportunity when Christene Whitaker hit the right post and the crossbar on consecutive shots.

Alexa D’Acunto scored 10 minutes into the second half, and Grim closed the scoring on a short chip shot with 11 minutes left.

Jordan Goyeau made four saves for the Panthers (11-3-1), who will face Centennial (14-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Centennial 4, Sierra Vista 1 — Shannelle McDonnell scored twice in the first 24 minutes as the Bulldogs took control early and ousted the Mountain Lions (5-10-2).

McDonnell headed in a rebound of Hannah Alba’s shot from the right side less than two minutes into the match.

The Mountain Lions tied it on Sophia Omidiji’s goal five minutes later, but a goal by Cienna Mendez in the 18th minute put Centennial ahead to stay.

McDonnell cashed in off a four-pass sequence in the Sierra Vista box in the 24th minute to extend the lead to 3-1, and Hollie Dunn closed the scoring with eight minutes left in the match.