Freelance
TC Varsity
RODNEY HAAS
sports@tucsoncitizen.com
It took 84 grueling minutes, but Sahuaro’s Lily Haspert eventually pulled it off.
The senior got a shot past Sabino goalkeeper Christi Kaufman to give No. 3 Sahuaro a 1-0 overtime win over its regional rival. Sahuaro advanced to the Class 4A Division I girls soccer quarterfinals.
“It’s exciting. I’ve never scored a game-winning goal before so this is my first and probably one of my favorite goals,” said Haspert, whose shot ended the season of defending 4A-I state champion Sabino.
Haspert capitalized on a 2-on-1 breakaway, taking a pass from Kathy Fisher and putting it in.
Sahuaro, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, outshot No. 14 Sabino 18-8 while keeping possession in Sabino territory much of the second half and into the first overtime period.
“We have 12 seniors and essentially the seniors decided that we aren’t losing this game on our home field,” Sahuaro coach Dave Kruszewski said. “We have a shot at the state title and it showed; we really started coming on in the second half.”
Sabino had scoring opportunities in the 24th and 56th minutes but those shots went wide.
“This is one of the most beautiful games ever seen played and I’m proud to be a part of it,” Sabino coach Brenda Lowery said. “I think my girls played with every ounce of heart they had. The results are a little disappointing, but Sahuaro is a great team and they came out to fight.”
No. 1 Catalina Foothills 4, No. 16 Avondale Agua Fria 0: At Catalina Foothills, the Falcons lived up to their No. 1 seed as Bri Williams and Savanna Schmidt each scored twice to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal against No. 9 Flowing Wells at 12:30 p.m. at Tucson High.
No. 5 Cienega 3, No. 12 Canyon del Oro 0: At Cienega, Nicola Hermes had a hand in all three goals for the Bobcats. She scored in the 26th and 79th minutes and assisted on Tori Slattery’s goal in the 75th.
Cienega plays at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Tucson High in the quarterfinals against either Prescott or Phoenix Paradise Valley.
No. 9 Flowing Wells 3, No. 8 Phoenix Thunderbird 2: At Phoenix, Celeste Carrera, Randi Fisher and Skye Schultz scored the Flowing Wells goals.
Class 4A Division II
No. 9 Palo Verde beat No. 8 Glendale Raymond Kellis 2-0 on the road. LeeAndra Smith scored in the 32nd minute and Kanasha Smith added a goal in the 62nd minute. The goals were assisted by Dominque Phininzy.
Palo Verde plays No. 1 Cottonwood Mingus in Tempe on Saturday.
No. 4 Douglas 1, No. 13 Flagstaff Coconino 0: At Douglas, Paulina Ramos scored in the 55th minute with an assist from Hilda Galvez. Douglas plays Sahuarita on Saturday at a to-be-determined location.
No. 12 Sahuarita 7, No. 5 Bullhead City Mohave 1: At Bullhead City, the Mustangs had a convincing victory as Taylor McCarter scored three times.