No. 2 Walden Grove over No. 15 ALA-QC 5-0

February 14, 2024 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365


Viviene Villarreal. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

No. 2 Walden Grove standout Viviene Villarreal scored all five goals against No. 15 ALA-Queen Creek at home Wednesday night to send the Red Wolves to the quarterfinal round of the 4A state playoffs on Saturday. The five goals pushed the sophomore to the second most in the 4A Conference with 41 behind Ashlee Kelsey of No. 13 Eastmark, who finished her junior season with 42, with No. 4 Salpointe knocking Eastmark out of the playoffs with a 3-0 win in that first round match. Walden Grove senior Milana Eyrich has 38 for third place.

Walden Grove (17-0-1) will host No. 7 Arcadia (10-5-1) at noon on Saturday for a shot at the semifinal round. The Red Wolves took second to Salpointe (11-2-2) in the state championship match last winter. Walden Grove and Salpointe are on opposite sides of the bracket again and the teams ended an overtime match this year with a 1-1 tie.

ALA-Queen Creek ended the season with an 8-9 record and the Patriots found it difficult to contain Villarreal early when the forward took the ball herself down the pitch in the 5th minute. She scored again in the 7th, 38th, 53rd and 63rd before taking a seat. Eyrich had an assist, as did Kaela Castro, and Meredith Galus had two.

The Red Wolves took 30 shots to only three from the Patriots. Megan Blatnik and Julia Vigorita combined for three saves.