Tolleson boys, Basha girls prevail at Dobson Soccer Classic

December 31, 2013 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Tolleson's boys soccer team overcame the shock of Millennium's late, tying goal by converting a penalty kick in the 79th minute Tuesday morning  to notch a 2-1 victory in the championship match of the Dobson Soccer Classic at Dobson High School.

Tolleson (10-4-1) appeared to be on its way to a 1-0 win thanks to a goal in the match's seventh minute by striker Armando Valdez. Millennium had few chances in the second half to tie the game. The Tigers game-tying goal came on an innocuos play. A throw in by Christian Garcia found a spot in the goal box that senior Timothy Jordan found an opening for and he booted it home in the 74th minute.

The goal stunned Tolleson, but the Wolverines were undeterred. They kept pressure on in Millennium's end. Junior Anthony Hernandez worked his way free in the left side of the box and was fouled. Hernandez calmly found the lower right-corner of the net on the PK to give Tolleson the win.

Tolleson wasn't, however, home free yet. Millennium made a push of their own in the final minute. Raphael Perez made the throw-in this time and a teammate headed it at the right post. Tolleson defender Edgar Dorantes used his head to deflect what would have been the tying goal with eight seconds left.

"We played a good game, but fell asleep a little at the end," Tolleson coach Benjamin Andronic said. "We were reslient. We kept pushing after they tied it. Anthony gave us a good opportunity, and made the PK."

Tolleson completed the tournament 4-0-1. Its only blemish was a tie with Millennium in pool play last Saturday. The Wolverines appeared in their second invitational title match this season. They lost in the final of the Bulldog Classic earlier this month, dropping a 1-0 decision to Ironwood. They were 4-1 in the Bulldog Invitational, hosted by Goldwater High School.

BASHA 1, CAMPO VERDE 0: In the girls title game, Basha (11-1-1) repeated as tournament champions beating Campo Verde for the third time this month -- all by scores of 1-0. Basha defeated Campo Verde, 2-0, in last year's tourney-title match. The Lady Bears recorded their 11th shutout of the season after having their 10-match scoreless streak snapped on Monday by Mesquite.

"We kind of like the binary system," Basha coach Greg Johnson said, referring to the rash of 1-0 wins over last season's Division II state champions.

This one took a bit longer to decide than the first two. ASU-bound forward Jazmarie Mader lofted in the game-winner in the 71st minute from about 25 yards out.

"All three were similar pertty equal every time," Johnson said. "Last time I think we scored wtih about 15 minutes left, so it took longer each time for us to score.

Mader did not play in the first two meetings, which took place in Campo Verde's tournament a little more than two weeks ago.

"The goal (Mader) scored was the same type of goal as the last game. a little loft over the keeper," Johnson said. "The one thing I didn't like was the way we finished."

As in the boys title game, Campo Verde came up with a couple good chances in the final nine minutes to get the equalizer. Basha midfielder Hannah Householder deflected a shot from the top of the box in the 76th minute that might have been a tough save for Basha keeper Morgan Keith. With the match in the final seconds, Campo's Meg McDowell passed successfully in the box to Victoria Dunigan, who had plenty of room for a tying shot. Dunigan's attempt rolled just left of the far post.

Campo Verde, retooling after last year's state title club, dropped to 7-5-1 on the season. The Lady Coyotes are playing well considering the massive losses from graduation and three of their losses are to goal-stingy Basha.