6A boys and girls soccer semis preview

February 15, 2019 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365

Hamilton (dark jerseys) defends against Tolleson in their first round game of the 6A boys soccer tournament last week. (AzPreps365 photo).

The top four seeds without exception advanced to the 6A boys and girls state soccer tournaments after the first two rounds of play.

It's anyone's guess who the finalists will be in each tourney with all eight teams having a shot at the title come Thursday February 21 at Campo Verde High School. The semifinals take place Saturday Feb. 16 at Campo Verde.

Here's a capsule look at each of the final fours:

6A BOYS SEMIS

#4 Chaparral (12-2-2) vs. #1 Brophy Prep (17-3-2): Brophy reached the final last year falling to Desert Vista. The Broncos have faced all three of the other semifinalists edging Desert Vista, Chaparral in OT and topping Hamilton 3-1 in the final regular season game. The Broncos are led by senior defender Deric Hall, an Air Force commit. Hall has played four varsity seasons and been a captain three of those. Another senior defender is Corbin Bernal an all-state selection last year. Junior midfielder Francesco Montanile has committed to UC Irvine. Brophy has allowed just 21 goals in 22 games. Chaparral moved up to 6A this year. The Firebirds advanced to the 5A final last year dropping a 1-0 decision to Campo Verde. Top players for Chaparral are Jack Ratterman, a senior defender headed to Northwestern. He is joined in the back by junior defender Andy Bebbington, aggressive and vocal according to coach Jason Speirs. Speirs likes his team's depth, an asset moving up a conference.

#3 Hamilton (18-3) vs. #2 Desert Vista (14-4-2): Desert Vista is the defending champion and brings a bulk of experience in going for a repeat. Coach Trent Elliott has 15 seniors who have contributed bigtime. Top players Elliott points to are senior midfielders AJ Abbadessa and Parker Lischwe an defender Bradley Brooks, who anchors the back and helps with height on defense and set pieces. The Thunder have been the stingiest on defense of the final four allowing only 15 goals. Hamilton has enjoyed an outstanding season under new coach Lance Thompson. The Huskies have stepped up offensive production with 99 goals and and cut goals allowed in half to 22. Leading the Huskies are four seniors. Defender Thatcher Cooper is speedy and distributes well. Left back Jonas Votaw is the most consistent player on the pitch and has great vision. Forward Channing Chasten also brings speed and goal scoring (16 goals). Derek Schlenker is a blue-collar type anchoring the midfield. Junior Jesse Maldanado is the top scorer (18) and Nabil Laurousi (10) has a double-digit total.

6A GIRLS SEMIS

#4 Hamilton (13-5-2) vs. #1 Chaparral (18-2-2): Chaparral has hit the pitch running moving from 5A to 6A. The Firebirds won 5A titles the last two seasons and have shown no signs of slowing this season. In its first two state games Chaparral has scored nine goals. Its firepower comes from several sources -- juniors Isabella Struckman (18 goals), Chloe Steinhilber (10), senior Keely Bond (10), sophomore Lauren Carlson (8) and senior Emma Carlson (7). Sruckman has scored three goals in two postseason games thus far. The Firebirds feature an outstanding keeper in senior Taylor Rowe. They defeated Hamilton in OT back in Decembe and split two meetings in invitationals with Desert Vista. They have not played Perry. Hamilton nudged Desert Ridge 2-1 in overtime to reach the semis or better for the third time in four years. The Huskies feature a number of top players. Seniors Shelby Carson and Nyah Bonchonsky are the leaders of the midfield. Senior center back Maddy Reuter and junior center back Ari Fresquez bring composure and a strong physical presence, respectively. Senior Kate Giordano plays forward most often, but can play any position. NIne players have tallied between 5 and 13 goals led by sophomore Mia Zubiate (13 goals) and Bonchonsky (12 goals). Hamilton suffered power-ranking game losses to Chaparral (OT) and Desert Vista and earned a tie with unbeaten Perry.

#3 Desert Vista (17-3-1) vs. #2 Perry (21-0-3): Perry doesn't have a loss and it's not surprising since the Pumas have allowed one goal all year -- in a season-opening 4-1 win over Red Mountain. If the progression in recent statet tournament play holds true this may be Perry's year. The Pumas lost in the quarters in 2016, bowed in the semis in 2017 and finished runner-up in 2018. Their only other title-game appearance was in 2014 when they lost 1-0 to Pinnacle. Leadership for the Pumas comes from senior midfielder Shaylynn Uyeshiro and senior outside back Annika Sandstedt. Stat leaders are three underclassmen - junior Brenna Alderson (15 goals), sophomore Joey Lujan (13 goals, 17 assists) and sophomore Mikella Reed (12). Perry notched a 3-0 win over Desert Vista in December. Desert Vista started slow, but is on a rampage now. The Thunder have won 15 games in a row, with its last defeat to Perry as mentioned above. The always defensive-minded squad opened 2-3-1 and gave up 11 goals in that stretch. They've allowed four goals since. Two of Desert Vista's losses were to Chaparral and Perry and it has two wins over Hamilton as part of the long win streak. This is the fourth time in five years the Thunder have reached the semis or better with one title and two runners-up in that span.