(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s soccer team (13-5) played in a game full of dramatics on Monday as it closed out its portion of Pool C at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The No. 6 seeded Aztecs fell behind 2-0 and 3-2 in the second but rallied back to defeat No. 10 seed Pensacola State College 4-3.
With the score tied at 3-3, sophomore Lizzie Walker (Canyon del Oro HS) put the Aztecs up for good as she hit a shot just inside the box with her left foot that sailed over and cleared the goalkeeper’s reach as Pima went up for good in the 87th minute (2:59 left on the clock). Freshman Samantha Mendez (Tucson Magnet HS) tapped the ball over to Walker from the ground for the assist.
“I’m so proud of everybody. We worked hard and grinded through,” sophomore Uriah Burrell said. “For a minute it was hectic, chaotic and we were a bit negative, but we ended up pulling together and just be confident in ourselves and our abilities and we finished it off.”
The Aztecs fell behind 2-0 when Pensacola State’s Aiyannah Robinson scored in the 50th minute. The Pirates got the board in the 17th minute with a goal from Vivian Kettenhausen.
Pima got on the scoreboard when sophomore Uriah Burrell (Catalina Foothills HS) cleared her defender and scored on a breakaway in the 70th minute (19:39 left in regulation). Freshman Phoebe Knisley (Canyon del Oro HS) kicked it out of the box to Burrell to set up the goal.
“It was a punt off by Phoebe (Knisley) off of a corner and I heard coach Carlos (Madrigal) to just boot it and I just stayed up top. The other team got a first touch, but I touched it around her, and I was able to be fast enough and place it in the corners.”
Walker scored her first goal of the game after drawing a foul inside the box and converted on her penalty kick to tie it at 2-2 in the 72nd minute.
“I’ve been practicing those (penalty kicks) for a whole season, and I made the one that counted,” Walker said.
The Pirates put the Aztecs in a hole again when Maya Figueroa scored in the 75th minute (14:43).
The Aztecs responded over 10 minutes (4:03 left) later when sophomore Solaris Graves (Ironwood Ridge HS) found the back of the net on her header inside the box to tie the score again at 3-3. Freshman Savannah Michel (Walden Grove HS) had the assist.
“All I knew is I saw the ball in the air and I had to do something because I was the closest person so I had to put something on it and take a chance,” Graves said.
The Aztecs await the result of Wednesday’s match with Heartland Community College and Pensacola State (8-5-1). If Heartland wins, they will advance but if Pensacola State wins, there will be a three-way tie as each team will be 1-1 in pool play.
“I’m happy with the way we played, and we were able to pull together for each other in the end,” Burrell said. “It was really heart-warming and I’m very proud of everybody here; on the bench and on the field. We really came together today and it showed.”
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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