Citizen Staff Writer
CDO’s left hook, right cross
RAYMOND SUAREZ
rsuarez@tucsoncitizen.com
The Canyon del Oro boys soccer team has one of Arizona’s best 1-2 punches – a pairing the school hopes leads in the coming weeks to the Dorados first boys soccer state championship.
Senior forward Nick Marshall and junior forward Donny Toia have helped the Dorados to an 18-2 record, a No. 1 seed in the Class 4A Sonoran Region tournament, in which CDO hosts No. 2 Catalina Foothills in the title match at 4 p.m. Thursday, and a likely No. 1 seed in next week’s 4A Division I state playoffs.
Behind its dynamic duo, CDO hopes to erase the painful memory of a 2008 4A-I semifinal loss to Goodyear Millennium.
“Last year we weren’t competitive enough,” said Marshall, a four-year varsity player. “. . . We want to play Millennium because they knocked us out last year. We always have fun playing them.”
In addition to their success on the CDO soccer team – Marshall leads the team with 27 goals and Toia has 25 goals and 14 assists – both have built on plenty of successes from their summer soccer action.
Marshall played for the Real Salt Lake under-17 development team this summer, helping it win the U.S. Club Soccer National Cup in Virginia.
Toia played this past summer as the only Arizona player on the U.S. under-18 Men’s National Team.
“We try not to get into the stats,” said Marshall, who has signed a letter of intent to play soccer at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and hopes to continue his play with Toia in the future. “. . . We’ve got along forever. I’m trying to talk him into going to UNLV.”
Toia, who is undecided about where he’ll play in college, has said he is interested in Santa Clara.
Toia, despite having another season to play high school soccer, hopes to do his part to help the team capture a state title this year before Marshall graduates. His increased scoring opportunities this season have helped his game.
“As a junior, you get a little more respect,” Toia said. “I like taking a lot of shots; it’s more practice for me. It shows my other teammates they can trust me with the ball.”
Marshall likes the focus the team has heading into the final few weeks of play; the 4A-I state championship is slated for Feb. 14 at Tucson High. “The motivation on a high school team, you always like to see that,” he said.
REGIONALS
Six Class 4A region championship soccer matches will be played Thursday around Tucson. Four Class 5A region championships will be played Saturday at Tucson High. Thursday’s schedule:
Boys
4A Sonoran: Canyon del Oro vs. Catalina Foothills, 4 p.m., at CDO
4A Kino: Nogales vs. Sabino, 4 p.m., at Desert View
4A Gila: Catalina vs. Douglas, 4 p.m., at Amphi
Girls
4A Sonoran: Canyon del Oro vs. Catalina Foothills, 6 p.m., at CDO
4A Kino: Flowing Wells vs. Sahuaro, 6 p.m., at Desert View
4A Gila: Palo Verde vs. Douglas, 6 p.m., at Amphi