By Richard Smith
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No one knows the glass half empty feeling of only reaching a state final quite like this Ironwood boys soccer team with 14 seniors.

Most were there for the 4-1 loss to Phoenix Horizon in last year's 5A final. Senior defender Alan Castillo was also the varsity roster as a freshman when a dominant Queen Creek Casteel team rolled to an 8-2 title win over the Eagles.

So #1 seed Ironwood isn't content with winning a 1-0 battle against Gilbert Campo Verde in Tuesday's semifinal for a third title game in three years. At the same time 30-year Eagles coach Tim Beck appreciates how hard it is to make it all the way back.

"It hurt last year. Getting back rarely happens. It's a different group but a lot of the same group. They were dedicated to do it from the beginning, but we're still not done. It's not enough to get back there for these guys. But they should be proud. It's an accomplishment to get back," Beck said.

This will be Beck's ninth state final and the storied Ironwood program's 11th. For the second straight year the Eagles will be the favorite, this time against its most familiar foe - a team that also knows the pain of a 5A finals loss.

Later Tuesday night Ironwood (18-3-1) learned its opponent in the 5A final is Peoria Unified School District and Northwest Region rival #10 Sunrise Mountain (17-5-2). The game was moved west from Mesa to Greenway High School and will kick off at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"We did make it to the finals and I'm so proud of my teammates and everything for keeping their focus the whole way through," senior goalkeeper Roberto Picos said. "We made it to the finals but we know the job isn't finished. We're working hard, staying humble and trying to get the ultimate goal."

Ironwood is 12-0 against Sunrise Mountain since 2004 and won 5-0 Jan. 18 on the Mustangs' home field.

Several Sunrise Mountain players were on the school's 2021-22 team that lost to Casteel 2-1 in overtime of the state final that season.

While the Eagles are undefeated against 5A teams, Campo Verde presented their toughest challenge yet in the semifinal. The first 35 minutes were end to end soccer.

Then an error in the 37th minute allowed Ironwood to take control.

A Coyotes defender juggled the ball to himself but missed the kick to clear it, allowing junior striker Bryan Romero to gain possession in the box and pass to senior midfielder Gavin Sanchez on the left flank. Sanchez buried his shot just under the roof of the net for his third goal in two games.

"It felt good, because this is the first time I played in the playoffs," Sanchez said.

Unlike its Saturday quarterfinal romp against Tucson Catalina Foothills, the Eagles could not expand their lead.  But as in that game, Ironwood keep the pressure on for a solid 30 minutes of the second half, creating more scoring chances than the Coyotes.

Junior midfielder Jordan Yesenski was crucial in the stretch, keeping posession and running tirelessly to wear out the visitors.

"We were trying to give them not too much opportunity in the back," Yesenski said. "Me personally, I was trying to go forward more  and just keep possession."

Campo Verde had enough in reserve for one lt surge and created several set pieces in dangerous areas in the final 10 minutes.

Junior Diego Estrada took a free kick from the right side of the field between the box and sideline that was nearly level with the net. Picos punched his troulesome in-swinging ball almost completely out of the area and the Eagles cleared it.

"I've been playing for a long time, so at that point it really comes down to instinct. I have a lot of trust in the guys around me. At that point I'm kind of in a flow state and keep the ball out of the net," Picos said. "That was a really good kick for them and we managed to clear it out. We knew this game wasn't pretty, but it was a win."

While the Coyotes earned some throw ins deep in the Eagles' end and two more free kicks within striking distance in the final four minutes, Estrada's kick turned out to be their best chance.

Ironwood cleared a throw in on its second attempt. One free kick went a bit wide right, while the other - with less than 50 seconds left - well over the net all but sealed the 1-0 win. 

"Keeping ourselves on the front foot didn't allow them to get on any feet in the second half until the last 10 minutes. They've got a very good squad. But other than a couple of set pieces, they didn't have any shots in anger against us at all," Beck said. "We knew the more pressure we put on in the second half, the more tired their legs would be from chasing them around."

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.