By Don Ketchum

Avondale Agua Fria and Glendale Apollo had the nos. 1 and 3 teams in Division II girls soccer power points entering the first week of 2012.

The two met on Thursday (Jan. 5) in the opening round of the Sun Valley Soccer Classic at Glendale Copper Canyon High, and played a tough, scoreless first half, fitting for their standing.

Fueled by a goal off a penalty kick about two minutes into the second half, Apollo went on to wear down the Owls with two more goals and came away with a 3-0 victory.

The tournament continues Friday (Jan. 6) and Saturday (Jan. 7). Apollo will play host Copper Canyon on Friday at 6 p.m., and Agua Fria will face Buckeye at 2 p.m.

“We were knocking on the door in the first half and we knew it was only a matter of time before we would score if we kept our composure,’’ said Apollo coach Michael Varela.

The No. 13 jersey was good for the Lady Hawks’ Jasmine Arollo, who scored on the penalty kick and added a second goal a few minutes later for a 2-0 advantage. She had more chances to earn a hat trick, but could not connect.

Alexis Godinez, a basketball player-turned-soccer player, scored Apollo’s third goal.

“Agua Fria has always been a tough opponent, and we knew they were not going to give up. Both of us were resilient,’’ Varela said.

The coach made some adjustments at halftime, moving a few players around like chess pieces, and the result was a better flow of the ball in the second half.