(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s soccer team (12-3) is heading back to the Region I, Division II Championship game.
The No. 3 seeded Aztecs defeated No. 2 seeded Scottsdale Community College 2-1. The Aztecs continued their playoff dominance over the Artichokes (12-3-1) as Pima has won the last five matchups; all in the Region I, Division II Semifinal round.
Freshman Samantha Mendez (Tucson Magnet HS) put the Aztecs ahead in the 8th minute with her shot in the box.
The score remained and the Artichokes were putting offensive pressure on the Aztecs, but couldn’t convert on their shot attempts. Pima led 1-0 at halftime.
Freshman Anjeli DesRosier (Salpointe Catholic HS) created some breathing room as she netted her goal in the 71st minute to make it 2-0.
“I was in the center of the box hoping that Uriah’s (Burrell) long throw would make it through to me,” DesRosier said about her goal. “I decided to hit it one touch and picked out the far post corner.
“We knew what we were up against tonight and brought the intensity and grit for this match,” DesRosier said. “Scottsdale is a really tough opponent. They play physically and generally try and hit their forwards straight out of their defense. It makes the game incredibly hard for a midfielder as we constantly had to step and drop.”
The Artichokes made it interesting after Shayla Hunt scored in the 75th minute.
Freshman Brooke Valencia (Sabino HS) closed out the match with seven saves.
“This was definitely a team win. We all worked for it and we all pushed through from the first half to the last second. We wanted it and it showed out there,” Valencia said. “There’s a lot of pressure on you (as a goalkeeper). When a keeper makes a mistake, it’s a goal so the big saves I had helped us win. The defense was a crucial part of this. They had way more saves than me too.”
The Aztecs will play at No. 1 seed Phoenix College on Wednesday in the Region I, Division II Finals. Game time is at 6:00 p.m. The Aztecs lost both regular season meetings to the Bears. The scores were 2-1 in both results.
Pima goals: Samantha Mendez 8th minute; Anjeli DesRosier 71st minute.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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