By Don Ketchum

The Arizona Soccer Showcase isn’t a simple walk in the park for the 24 boys’ high school teams and 20 girls’ teams. They are serious.

A prime example was Tuesday’s opening match between the Glendale Ironwood and Scottsdale Chaparral boys at the Scottsdale Sports Complex.

Under crystal clear blue skies and with a postcard backdrop of the McDowell Mountains, the teams fought to a 2-2 draw.

They played with the intensity of a state tournament match. Each had its moments.

Ironwood, which won the Class 5A Division II championship over Phoenix Barry Goldwater last season and has three other titles in the 2000 decade under coach Tim Beck, came close to scoring in the early stages.

The Eagles kept the pressure on and finally scored on Brett Martinez’s goal. He jogged back upfield and waved to a small but enthusiastic group of Ironwood supporters.

Chaparral, the Class 4A Division I runner-up in 2009 (to Tucson Canyon del Oro) and 4A runner-up in 2004 (to Goodyear Millennium), didn’t get many chances to score and trailed 1-0 at the half. But that all changed after the break.

Firebirds coach Jason Speirs gave his players a firm, constructive talk at halftime, and the team came out more aggressive in the second half.

The Firebirds put the pressure on and narrowly missed on a couple of shots early in the second.

Douglass Jamison, one of the few Chaparral players who could match Ironwood’s speed up front, tied it at 1 with a header that was set up by a beautiful pass from a teammate.

Jamison found the net again for a 2-1 lead when he scored on a rebound off the Ironwood keeper, who had strayed a bit too far.

Ironwood started to regain momentum by keeping the ball at the Chaparral end for the most part.

Alex Ramirez nearly tied it at 2 with a shot that was wide right, but made the most of another chance with about eight minutes left in the match.

Ironwood nearly regained the lead on a shot by Michael Gallardo with roughly a minute to play, but it was wide right.

The teams had to settle for the tie, and each went on to play again later in the day in Pool B. Chaparral faced Mater Dei from the Los Angeles area and Ironwood met Avondale La Joya.

The tournament continues Wednesday and Thursday and wraps up Friday with championship matches in boys’ and girls’ divisions.