Don Ketchum
Former Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com

Robertson, Pinnacle boys win Moon Valley soccer tourney

December 7, 2012 by Don Ketchum, AZPreps365


There is no question about the sport in which Mason Robertson excels.

It’s soccer. Full-out, for 60 seconds per minute, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and 365 days a year, 366 in this leap year.

All you need to do is take a look at the senior from Phoenix Pinnacle.

Dirt and grass on his uniform, including some marks that resemble tire tracks. Hey, he will take on anybody or any thing. His head is soaked with sweat, as it was on a cool Friday night (Dec. 7) in the championship match of the Moon Valley Tournament at Moon Valley’s Putman Field.

He surprised Phoenix Washington and even himself, scoring two goals within a 25-second span in the second half, and Pinnacle captured the title with a 4-1 victory.

Pinnacle remained unbeaten at 7-0 and Washington dropped to 6-1.

Robertson had such a good night that he helped catch coach Brock Heykoop unaware after the game with a shower of ice water.

Heykoop didn’t seem to mind all that much.

“He has a passion for putting the ball in the back of the net,’’ Heykoop said. “And he has an incredible motor.’’

Robertson, who has committed to the University of Washington, chases the ball down in the corners, along both sidelines and in the middle of the field.

Pinnacle had a 1-0 lead when Robertson took a pass from a teammate on the left side of the field, stopped for a split second and moved the ball around a defender. He rocketed the ball into the right side of the net at the 24:51 mark of the second half.

A similar scenario occurred at 24:26, when Robertson took another pass and fired it home, this time in the left side of the net.

Dan Wall scored the final Pinnacle goal.

Washington avoided the shutout by scoring on Enrique Lopez’s penalty kick with 5:11 left.

It was Iszak Fierro’s goal with 6:48 left in the first half that gave Pinnacle momentum.

“That first goal was very important,’’ Heykoop said. “It enabled us to set the tone, to relax and start playing soccer the way we know we can play.’’

The intensity grew for both teams as the match wore on. It got a bit physical at times and the players exchanged verbal jabs, but nothing too serious.

“We connected well, took advantage of their (Washington) high work rate. They are a very good team, a hard-working team and they keep coming after you,’’ Heykoop said.