Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Players line up to perform the sportsmanship ritual following the match. Extending a hand is Safford freshman Aleena Romero (15), junior Robyn Motes (11), junior Sophia Tellez (12), senior Lydia Martin (14), and sophomore Hailey Foote (17). The No. 7 Bulldogs head to Phoenix for a semifinal pairing with No. 3 Northwest Christian on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
Seventh-ranked Bulldogs face No. 3 Crusaders
By Raymundo Frasquillo
THATCHER – The E.J. Romero-coached No. 7 Safford Bulldogs (10-2-1 seeding, 3-0-1 region) upset the Sara Bingham-coached No. 2 Thatcher Eagles (10-0-1, 3-0-1) 3-1 on Feb. 10. The match was played on Eastern Arizona College’s John Mickelson Field. Previously, the teams tied 2-2 during the regular season region pairing on Jan. 15.
Safford heads to the semifinals against No. 3 Phoenix Northwest Christian (11-1, 13.3943) on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. The final is at Scottsdale Coronado for a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, Feb. 17.
The other semifinal has No. 1 Gilbert Christian (12-0, 17.9396) hosting No. 5 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (10-1-1, 11.4290).
Safford defeated No. 10 Phoenix Veritas Prep 4-2 and Thatcher shutout No. 19 Scottsdale Christian 7-0 during the first round on Feb. 7.
Northwest Christian Crusaders (11-1 seeding)
The John Kortman-coached Northwest Christian Crusaders (11-1 seeding, 13.3943 rating) averaged a 6-1 (74-7) score per match.
Northwest Christian has seeding wins over Buckeye Odyssey Institute (3-0, Nov. 29), Phoenix Veritas Prep (2-0, Dec. 4), Buckeye Odyssey Institute (1-0, Dec. 18), Glendale Apollo (7-0, Dec. 21), Surprise Highland Prep (13-0, Jan. 4), Chandler Valley Christian (7-0, Jan. 6), Phoenix Country Day School (8-1, Jan. 8), Yuma Catholic (7-2, Jan. 16), Scottsdale Christian (8-0, Jan. 18), Fountain Hills (8-0, Jan. 22), Scottsdale Prep (3-0, Jan. 24), and Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (6-0, Jan. 29). The loss was to Gilbert Christian (2-4, Dec. 11).
The roster numbers 23 and includes seniors Lydia Bell (24), Cassidy Garberding (4), Rachel Johnson (9); juniors Ella Broek (00), Emily McCarthy (14), and Analyliah Zavala (5); sophomores Kili Barton (18), Alex Broek (8), Abby Dikeman (6), Sarah Johnson (1), Sophia Munoz (16), Zoe Souza (15), Ella Wolfe (2), and Emma Zakarian (10); and freshmen Grace Chaydez (17), Chloe Graham (22), Betsie Jahn (11), Megan Propati (12), Makayla Reed (25), Avah Ress (13), Rylie White (20), and Emma Zeable (7).
Safford Bulldogs (10-2-1)
The E.J. Romero-coached Safford Bulldogs (10-2-1 seeding, 3-0-1 region) averaged a 6-1 (72-10) score per match.
Safford had seeding wins over Tucson Catalina Magnet (9-0, Dec. 1), Tucson Tanque Verde (6-0, Dec. 5), Coolidge (4-0, Dec. 11), Tucson Empire (8-0, Dec. 20), Tucson Pueblo (9-1, Jan. 10), Florence (4-0, Jan. 18), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (8-0, Jan. 22), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (10-0, Jan. 24), and Tucson Sabino (6-1, Jan. 30). The losses were to Tucson Mica Mountain (3-5, Dec. 14) and to Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (0-2, Jan. 19) while the tie was with Thatcher (2-2, Jan. 15).
Members of the team are seniors Emilee Brown (24), Sam Foote (13), Aminee Johnson (23), and Lydia Marin (14); juniors Bre Arbizo (3), Giselle Garrobo (2), Isabella Gutierrez (8), Robyn Motes (11), and Sophia Tellez (12); sophomores Trynity Dominguez (4), Hailey Foote (17), Riley Klajda (28), Tashoney Kniffen (31), Reyka Lester (18), Luz Mendoza (7), Chloe Peters (9), and Tatum Williams (10); and freshmen Jasmine Gonzales (5), Amiyah Holguin (16), and Aleena Romero (15).
3A State Tourney
Quarterfinal results had two higher and two lower seeds advancing on Feb. 10.
Top-ranked Gilbert Christian shutout No. 9 Queen Creek Crimson (13-0, 9.6458) 5-0 and No. 3 Phoenix Northwest Christian defeated No. 6 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (10-2, 11-0460) via 4-2 penalty kicks following scoreless regulation play.
The upsets were No. 5 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian 2-1 over No. 4 Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (11-1, 13.1951) and No. 7 Safford 3-1 over No. 2 Thatcher.
First-round exits were made by No. 16 Yuma Catholic (6-5 seeding, minus 1.5934 rating), 9-2 to No. 1 Gilbert Christian; No. 8 Arete Prep (10-2, 9.9346), 5-3 to No. 9 Crimson; No. 12 Gilbert Classical (11-3, 6.7676), 7-1 by No. 5 Pusch Ridge; and No. 13 Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (6-4, 1.1336), 3-1 by No. 4 American Leadership – West Foothills in the upper bracket.
The lower bracket also had No. 3 Northwest Christian (11-1, 13.3943) 3-1 in overtime over No. 14 Valley Christian (6-6, 0.6972) and No. 5 Benjamin Franklin (10-2, 11-0460) 4-1 over No. 11 Glendale Prep (10-3, 7.9626).
3A State Play-in Round
There were four lower seed wins or upsets in the play-in round, No. 18 Valley Christian (6-6, 0.6972) 6-2 over No. 15 Mohave Valley River Valley (8-3, 2.5695), No. 17 Rancho Solano Prep (6-4, 1.1336) 2-1 penalty kick after a 1-1 tie over No. 16 Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (7-5, 1.52012); No. 21 Yuma Catholic (6-5, minus 1.5934) 3-2 over No. 12 Scottsdale Prep (9-3, 7.6346), and No. 19 Scottsdale Christian (5-5, 0.1287) 1-0 over No. 14 Sabino (3.0024).
The higher seed prevailed in the four other pairings. Eliminated were No. 24 Phoenix Country Day School (5-7, minus 3.5787), 4-0 by No. 9 Crimson (13-0, 9.6458); No. 22 Coolidge (6-5-1, minus 1.8308), 3-1 by No. 11 Glendale Prep (10-3, 7.9626); No. 20 Florence (7-4-1, 0.1087), 5-0 by No. 13 Gilbert Classical (11-3, 6.7676); and No. 23 Tucson Tanque Verde (5-6, minus 3.1320), 5-1 by No. 10 Phoenix Veritas Prep (8-4, 8.4783).
Winners advanced to the first round against the Top 8.
Final 3A State Rankings
The 3A state rankings as of 9 a.m. on Jan. 31 were Gilbert Christian (12-0 seeding, 17.9396 rating) No. 1,
Thatcher (10-0-1, 13.7659) No. 2, Northwest Christian (11-1, 13.3943) No. 3, American Leadership – West Foothills (11-1, 13.1951) No. 4, Pusch Ridge (10-1-1, 11.4290) No. 5, Benjamin Franklin (10-2, 11-0460) No. 6, Safford (10-0853) No. 7, and Arete Prep (10-2, 9.9346) No. 8.
Crimson (13-0, 9.6458) was No. 9, Veritas Prep (8-4, 8.4783) No. 10, Glendale Prep (10-3, 7.9626) No. 11, Scottsdale Prep (9-3, 7.6346) No. 12, Gilbert Classical (11-3, 6.7676) No. 13, Sabino (3.0024) No. 14, Mohave Valley River Valley (8-3, 2.5695) No. 15, and Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (7-5, 1.52012) No. 16.
Rancho Solano Prep (6-4, 1.1336) was No. 17, Valley Christian (6-6, 0.6972) No. 18, Scottsdale Christian (5-5, 0.1287) No. 19, Florence (7-4-1, 0.1087) No. 20, Yuma Catholic (6-5, minus 1.5934) No. 21, Coolidge (6-5-1, minus 1.8308) No. 22, Tucson Tanque Verde (5-6, minus 3.1320) No. 23, and Phoenix Country Day School (5-7, minus 3.5787) No. 24.
