Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Adysen Smith (12) readies a shot on goal. The Thatcher junior scored four goals against Scottsdale Christian on Feb. 7. Thatcher hosts Safford for a quarterfinal match on John Mickelson Field Saturday, Feb. 10.
By Raymundo Frasquillo
THATCHER – A year ago, the teams were ranked differently. Safford was No. 2 and Thatcher No. 11. The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles 1-0 during the region pairing. Safford downed No. 15 Coolidge 5-1 in the first round and No. 7 Gilbert Classical 2-0 in the quarterfinals before succumbing 1-3 to No. 3 Gilbert Christian. Meanwhile, Thatcher fell 1-2 to No. 6 Tucson Sabino in the first round.
This season, Thatcher is No. 2 and Safford No. 7. The teams tied 2-2 during the region pairing. Thatcher advanced to the quarterfinals via a 7-0 shutout of No. 19 Scottsdale Christian while Safford defeated No. 10 Phoenix Veritas Prep 4-2 on Feb. 7.
The semifinalist will be decided on Eastern Arizona College’s John Mickelson Field on Saturday, Feb. 10 with a starting time of 2 p.m.
Elsewhere in the state quarterfinals, No. 9 Queen Creek Crimson (13-0, 9.6458) visits No. 1 Gilbert Christian (12-0, 17.9396), No. 5 Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (10-1-1) visits No. 4 Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (11-1, 13.1951), and No. 5 Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (10-2, 11-0460) visits No. 3 Phoenix Northwest Christian (11-1, 13.3943).
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).
Thatcher Eagles (10-0-1)
The Sara Bingham-coached Thatcher Eagles (10-0-1 seeding, 3-0-1 region) averaged a 5-0.3 (58-3) score per match.
Thatcher has seeding wins over Douglas (5-0, Nov. 29), Sabino (1-0, Dec. 5), Chandler Valley Christian (5-0, Dec. 13), Buckeye Odyssey Institute (1-0, Dec. 18), Chandler Prep (6-0, Jan. 3), Sahuarita (5-0, Jan. 8), Palo Verde Magnet (8-0, Jan. 10), Empire (9-1, Jan. 18), Gilbert Arete Prep (4-1, Jan. 24), and Andrada Polytechnic (13-0, Jan. 30).
The roster numbers 23 and includes seniors Molly Bigler (13), Avery Bingham (3), Camri Larson (6), Nelson Sedona (2), Samantha Unger (4), and Dani Welker (15); juniors Grace Dodge (11), Adysen Smith (12), and Kayla Turley (0); sophomores Tyla Bryce (20), Ja’niah Cabrera (20), Braylee Howard (1), Savanna Kartchner (16), Lanie Larson (18), Jade Richardson (17), Lily Scott (18), and Abby Welker (14); and freshmen Diedra Adams (5), Brindy Bryce (23), Tessa Bryce (22), and Marlee Farris (10).
3A State Tourney Round One
First round exits were made by No. 16 Yuma Catholic (6-5 seeding, minus 1.5934 rating), 9-2 to No. 1 Gilbert Christian (12-0, 17.9396); No. 8 Arete Prep (10-2, 9.9346), 5-3 to No. 9 Crimson (13-0, 9.6458); No. 12 Gilbert Classical (11-3, 6.7676), 7-1 by No. 5 Pusch Ridge (10-1-1); and No. 13 Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep (6-4, 1.1336), 3-1 by No. 4 American Leadership – West Foothills (11-1, 13.1951) 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, Phoenix Northwest Christian (11-1, 13.3943) No. 3, Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills (11-1, 13.1951) No. 4, Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (10-1-1) 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.
Scottsdale 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.
Final 3A Southeast Region Standings
The final 3A Southeast Region standings were Thatcher (10-0-1 seeding, 3-0-1 region) first, Safford (10-2-1, 3-0-1) second, Empire (5-7, 2-2) third, Palo Verde Magnet (4-10, 1-3) fourth, and Andrada Polytechnic (1-11, 0-4) fifth.
Safford – 4, Veritas Prep – 2
The Bulldogs led 2-0 at halftime as sophomore striker/forward Trynity Dominguez (4) started the scoring and sophomore forward/midfielder Chloe Peters (9) added the second goal in the 26th minute.
Dominguez left Herman BB Andrews Track and Field with a hat trick, scoring goals in the 42nd minute and 79th minute.
Veritas Prep was not to be denied as senior midfielder Maddie Lucas added a pair of goals in the 73rd and 75th minutes.
Thatcher – 7, Scottsdale Christian – 0
Four different players scored for Thatcher, beginning with freshman Diedra Adams (5) in the first half and ending with sophomore Lanie Larson (5) 27 seconds into the second half. In between, junior Adysen Smith (12) added four consecutive goals followed by sophomore Tyla Bryce (20) with the sixth goal of the first half.
