Perry's boys soccer team scratched and clawed its way to the postseason this year and not having the lineup it would like to have on the field more than two matches in a row was part of their battle.

Perry battled again Wednesday afternoon with the No. 12 seed as its moniker and rallied with two second-half goals to edge No. 5 Gilbert, 2-1, in a Division I state tournament first-round match at Campo Verde High School.

Senior Cam Harris notched both goals for Perry in a span of six minutes that helped earn the Pumas a quarterfinal matchup Saturday afternoon at 2 against Chandler sister-school Hamilton. It was the second time this season Perry defeated Gilbert The last time was in mid-December. Both finals were 2-1.

"This one was like the first one," Perry coach John Roberts said. "Except that we scored with three seconds left to win the first time. Gilbert as up on us 1-0 last time so it was pretty similar."

Gilbert's Matt Kowalski tallied for the Tigers in the 17th minute just getting the tip of his toe on the ball and past diving Perry keeper Collin Graham. The ball trickled into the net a couple seconds later.

Harris evened the match in the 43rd minute for about five yards out. His goal in the 49th minute came off a corner from Zach Johnson. Harris elevated and headed the ball solidly in the net  for what proved to be the game winner.

Gilbert wasn't the only high-seed to drop an opening-round match on Wednesday. No. 2 North fell to No. 15 Goldwater, 4-3 in overtime; No. 11 Sunnyslope topped No. 6 Highland, 2-1 and No. 9 Sandra Day O'Connor edged No. 8 Tolleson, 1-0. Matches that went the high-seeds way were No.1 Alhambra a 3-0 winner over No. 16 Corona del Sol, No. 4 Hamilton 2-0 over No. 13 Trevor Browne, No. 3 Brophy over No. 14 Liberty 3-0, and No. 7 Chandler over No. 10 Ironwood, 3-2.

D-I quarterfinal matchups Saturday are all set for 2 p.m. -- Sandra Day O'Connor at Alhambra, Perry at Hamilton, Sunnyslope at Brophy and Goldwater at Chandler.

D-II

Campo Verde didn't get a pleasant draw as the No. 2 seed in Division II, having to face last year's runner-up, No. 15 Copper Canyon, in the opeing round. Campo Verde coach Drew Guarneri was well aware of how good the Aztecs were. When the final horn sounded, Campo Verde came away with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph.

"They were 10-2 and had to get in because they won their section," Guarneri said. "Everyone I talked to said they're good. We prepared for them. We tried to keep their left-footed guy on top going right. We did a good job closing him off..... I thought the result was the right result."

Campo Verde scored the game's lone goal on a set piece in the 52nd minute. A long throw-in by Robert Delci to the far post was headed in junior Maseo Asturias. Copper Canyon had a couple good chances late in the match, but misfired. Copper Canyon keeper Carlos Lopez made a handful of good saves.

High-seeds prevailed in all but one of Wednesday's D-II first-round matches. The only high seed to lose was Tucson. San Luis journeye to Tucson and snatched a 2-1 victory over the hosts. The other results -- No. 1 Queen Creek 1, No. 16 Flagstaff 0; No. 8 Cactus Shadows 2, No. 9 Paradise Valley 1; No 5 Notre Dame Prep 1, No. 12 Salpointe 0; No. 4 Marana Mtn. View 2, No. 13 Canyon del Oro 0; No. 3 Nogales 2, No. 14 Catalina Foothills 1 and No. 7 Glendale 3, No. 10 Desert View 1.

The quarterfinals matchups on Saturday (Feb. 7) are all at 2 p.m. They are: Cactus Shadows at Queen Creek; Notre Dame Prep at Marana Mtn. View; San Luis at Nogales and Glendale at Campo Verde.