BY PETE MOHR | FEBRUARY 9, 2011
Soccer squads advance to Semis; both face Catalina Foothills at Tucson High
Girls, Feb. 9; Boys, Feb. 10, 7 p.m.
Phil Wiltfong (l.) scored the winning (and only) goal at 34:00 of the 2nd half and goalkeeper Casey DeBusk recorded his second straight shutout. The 1-0 win over Queen Creek, Saturday, Feb. 5, made Tony Vos (c.) a very elated head coach. Photos by Pete Mohr
CSHS – There will be “Falcons” in Saturday’s Girls and Boys Soccer, Division 2, championship matches at Tucson High School. The questions is which Falcons? Ours? Or those “other Falcons” – Tucson’s Catalina Foothills?
Wednesday afternoon, 5 p.m. start, at Tucson High, Head Coach Jeff Vittorio’s Lady Falcons, advancing from last Saturday’s 3-1 Quarterfinals victory over Apollo, challenged the 2010 defending champion Catalina Foothills, over whom they recorded a 1-0 penalty kicks decision in last December’s Horizon Classic.
But the State Semifinals, on Tucson turf, represent a beyond-tougher test for the CSHS Soccer Gals. Don’t bet against ‘em!
If they pull off the upset, “our” Lady Falcons will play the (Tucson) Sahuaro vs. Sabino winner in Saturday’s championship match, again at Tucson High, 5 p.m. start.
Junior striker Dylan Hartman scored an early goal off Nick Johnson’s rebound and goalkeeper Casey DeBusk made a sensational save late in the game, as the Falcons beat Independence, 1-0, Wednesday night, Feb. 2, advancing CSHS to last Saturday’s quarterfinals against Queen Creek.
Last Saturday, Feb. 5, Head Coach Tony Vos’s squad had to overcome an A.I.A. Quarterfinals scheduling foul-up that sent them to 50 miles distant Red Mountain Sports Complex, where they edged Queen Creek, 1-0, on Tri-Captain Phil Wiltfong’s laser shot from 20 yards out that ricocheted in off the right goal post just below the crossbar. His winning goal, with only six minutes left to play, was a beauty!
Postgame, Tri-Captain Wiltfong told Sonoran News: “I’ve been waiting a long time to score a goal like that one!” Credit freshman forwards Nick Hammer and Nick Jackson with assists on Wiltfong’s game-winner.
Earlier in the 2nd half, the crossbar had stopped Tri-Captain Jacob Donovan’s scoring effort, followed by the Bulldog goalkeeper thwarting Hammer with a “collision” save. Then Wiltfong’s blast from the left side beat him cleanly. Goalkeeper Casey DeBusk preserved the shutout, his second in a row.
Coach Vos to Sonoran News: “All season long, nobody respected us, especially after Saguaro beat us for the Desert Sky championship; but look who’s going to Tucson!”
“Our” Falcons are only two games away from a State Championship “double.” Keep your fingers crossed – and come back to sonorannews.com for updates.
A winning quintet! (Front, l-r) Goal scorers Bethany Park, Taryn McClendon (assisted by Lauren Lazo), Kelli Reid; (back, l-r) Head Coach Jeff Vittorio, goalkeeper Kate Accola. Lady Falcons beat Apollo, 3-1, Saturday, Feb. 5, advancing to Semifinals against defending State Champion (Tucson) Catalina Foothills.
