Emotions, fatigue, and leadership are all called into question when the game is at its highest. Both Arizona College Prep and Gilbert Classical fought hard and played through all of those, ending in a tie with a score of 1-1 after two 10-minute periods of overtime Tuesday night. 

The match meant a lot for playoff indications. Both teams were close to gaining an advantage only to fail to score or lose possession. 

Defense dominated all night and almost every shot that each team took faced a contest. It wasn’t until the second half that defender Aiden Bachman for the Knights scored.

With a little momentum, ACP looked to capitalize on any chances they got but failed to convert. Just after a failed shot attempt by the Knights, Gilbert Classical ensued a score with 21 minutes left to go in the second half. 

That’s when both defenses started to nail down and lock in following the score of 1-1 both teams saw few chances to score. Both goalies played outstanding feeling for shot attempts and ultimately would come up with huge stops. 

Oscar Medina, the head coach for Gilbert Classical, shared some insight on what he said to his team during intermission. "Huddle time is a special time for any team and any sport and what makes our team special is the heart and lessons that we learn from our opponent.”

Both coaches were asked how they deal with a tie, ACP stated, “We have to stay the course just refocus and go back to what we do. We gotta finish our chances we created them and you got to put the ball in the net.”

As for Gilbert Classical, Medina stated, “We take this tie and put it in the books, when you’re playing away and the focus for away games is a tie or no loss I think we did the best of the two.”

Some ties bring mixed emotions for others such as forward Kalil Mendoza for him It means progress, after the game when asked about how he felt after the tie he said: “Felt pretty damn good.” 

As for Arizona College Prep, it awaits to see what playoff scenarios are made. According to its assistant coach, the playoff standings will be sent out Wednesday around noon and will wait to see if they have to play a game on Thursday, Feb. 3 or sometime next week.