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Soccer girls primed for playoffs

By Brian Gomez

The Class 5A state tournament has arrived, which means that the Corona del Sol High School girls soccer team is primed for a run deep into the playoffs.

And that Corona will meet Scottsdale Horizon somewhere along the way.

For the fifth straight season, Corona and Horizon figure to cross paths, most likely Feb. 6 in the state quarterfinals, assuming that Corona beat Gilbert Highland and that Horizon topped Mesa Mountain View in the second round.

The Lady Aztecs have been eliminated by the Huskies the last four years, much to the chagrin of coaches and players who can’t understand why the teams are repeatedly pitted against each other in early rounds.

“Wherever we are, Horizon will show up,” said Corona head coach Matt Smith, whose teams are winless in six matches against Horizon over the past three seasons. “It’s supposed to be a random thing and it’s supposed to rotate.”

Smith doesn’t question the legitimacy of the seedings, but calls them “unfortunate,” especially since unofficial power points ratings revealed last week that Corona and Horizon were the state’s top teams.

Had the power points ratings been used this season, Corona (19-3, 7-1 Central Region) and Horizon would have been on track to meet in the state finals. The potential semifinal matches would have featured No. 1 Horizon against No. 4 Phoenix Xavier and No. 2 Corona against No. 3 Desert Vista.

“If we want to win state, we’re going to have to beat Horizon,” Smith said. “No one is going to beat Horizon for us.”

Smith calls this year’s team his most talented ever, thanks to the emergence of midfielders Chelsea Bednarz, Blaine Dugan and Ashley Hale. In goal, senior Lauren Haynes has been a steady force, recording 13 shutouts and 140 saves.

“I honestly believe the last couple years that nobody has beat us,” Smith said. “We’ve lost some games, but nobody has really beat us.”

Boys soccer

Faced with arguably the easiest draw in the state tournament, Corona’s boys soccer team has a legitimate chance of advancing to the semifinals.

The Aztecs (13-8, 4-4) caught a break this past week when a pair of No. 1 seeds were upset in the opening round. Metro Region champ Phoenix Carl Hayden was blanked by Marana Mountain View, and Mesa Red Mountain topped Highland, the Fiesta Region champions.

“Some of the best teams will be knocked out, and you never know how things will turn out,” said Corona head coach Fran Bader, whose team will play the Desert Mountain-Red Mountain winner at 6 p.m. Feb. 6, assuming that it beat Mountain View this past week.

Girls basketball

Coming down the home stretch, the Corona girls basketball team has positioned itself to claim at least a share of the Central Region championship.

If the No. 8-ranked Lady Aztecs (19-6, 5-1) beat Marcos de Niza on Feb. 6 and No. 3 Desert Vista in the Feb. 12 season finale, a coin toss or playoff game will be used to determine the region champion, Corona head coach Pat Reed said.

“Obviously, we want the No. 1 seed, but you’ve got to beat them in the end, too,” said Reed, whose team likely will face Desert Vista in the Central Region Tournament. “We would have to beat them twice in a row no matter what we do.”

Wrestling

The Corona wrestling team figures to have at least three grapplers in contention for medals at next week’s state tournament.

Juniors Johnny Nguyen (112 pounds) and Blaise Johnson (160) and senior Scott Heward (189) stand the best chance at the state meet, which draws the top three wrestlers in each weight class from this past week’s region tournaments.

“Anything can happen,” said Corona head coach Dave Vibber, whose team finished the season with a 26-8 record in dual meets. “The separation and the placement in the state bracket is going to be important.”

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com.

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