After 2 ACL tears, Doral Academy has top goal scorer for 4A title push
Doral Academy’s girls soccer team went on a magical run in 2022, going all the way to the Class 4A state title game.
The Dragons went 17-1, with their only defeat in the title game. They were led by a talented group of freshmen, including Sienna Turco, who scored 20 goals.
With Doral Academy on the rise, it set the stage for Turco to shine as the Dragons’ top goal scorer and get back to the title game.
Then, Turco tore her ACL in March 2023 and missed her sophomore year. And she tore it again in March 2024 and missed last season.
It’s been a long journey for Turco, but she returned healthy for her senior year and picked up where she left off. Turco leads Doral Academy with 39 goals, which helped the Dragons win the 4A Mountain League title heading into the postseason.
“It was all the little things to come back and be the best player she could be,” Doral Academy coach Kurt Divich said. “It’s taken awhile. You could see until recently there was a little bit of rust. It wasn’t there just yet. Right now, she looks pretty close to what we had her freshman year and better at some things.”
The girls soccer playoffs begin Saturday with opening-round action of the 4A Southern Region tournament. Doral Academy (15-1-2), the Mountain League’s No. 1 seed, hosts Rancho, the No. 4 seed from the Lake League, at 10 a.m.
‘I was scared’
Turco put an exclamation point on the end of Doral Academy’s regular season. She recorded a hat trick in a 3-0 home win against Sierra Vista on Tuesday in a battle for first place in the Mountain League.
Even Turco said her return has gone much better than expected.
“I was scared I was going to be washed; I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I haven’t played in two years, I’m scared, and we have a good team. What if I don’t score? The first year I did so good not even expecting to. Then coming back and scoring, it just calmed the nerves.”
Doral Academy surprised everyone in 2022 by going undefeated until the Dragons fell to Cimarron-Memorial in the title game. Turco then turned her attention to the club season in the spring before tearing her ACL.
Turco stayed around the team, going to practice and games while recovering to try to get ready for her junior season. Doral Academy lost to Centennial in the 4A Southern Region semifinals.
When the calendar turned to 2024, Turco’s training started to ramp up, but she tore her ACL again in March.
“I genuinely thought nothing happened because it was just a plant,” Turco said. “The next day, I couldn’t walk.”
Doral Academy advanced to the 4A state tournament but lost to Northern champion Galena 3-2 in overtime.
“I knew she is mentally strong and a strong person, so I knew she could get through it,” senior goalie Kenadie Mashore said. “When it happened a second time, I can’t really explain it. I just felt so upset for her because I know she was so anxious to get back playing for her junior year.”
Being positive
Even through the tough moments of recovering from a second injury, Turco said she still surrounded herself with the team. She said having a positive mindset and even laughing about the situation helped her get through it.
Her first goals this season came in a 9-0 win over Western on Aug. 26, when she scored six times.
“I was just so pleased because it meant that she was going to go back into the recruiting cycle, be happy and be a senior with her girls,” Divich said.
Doral Academy is a favorite in a top-heavy 4A with Palo Verde, Canyon Springs, Green Valley and Sierra Vista. Turco, Mashore and defender Gianna Davis are a few of the seniors who were freshmen on the 2022 team, and the goal of finishing the season with a state title is a possibility.
“We’re all super excited,” Mashore said. “We’re all on the same path we were freshman year. Having our whole crew back, we were so close freshman year to winning it all and last year, too. This year, we all have the same mindset of winning and finally getting our state championship.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X
Southern Nevada girls soccer playoff schedule
Class 5A
State tournament
State quarterfinals
Wednesday
All games at 6 p.m.
No. 5 Bishop Gorman at No. 4 Centennial
No. 6 Shadow Ridge at No. 3 Arbor View
State semifinals
Nov. 5
At Valley
Bishop Gorman-Centennial winner vs. No. 1 Coronado, 4 p.m.
Shadow Ridge-Arbor View winner vs. No. 2 Faith Lutheran, 6 p.m.
State championship
Nov. 8
At Valley
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, Noon
Class 4A
Southern Region tournament
Leagues: D = Desert, M = Mountain, L = Lake, S = Sky
Region first round
Saturday
All games at 10 a.m.
No. 4S Sky Pointe at No. 1D Green Valley
No. 3M Desert Oasis at No. 2L Eldorado
No. 4D SLAM! Nevada at No. 1S Palo Verde
No. 3L Las Vegas High at No. 2M Sierra Vista
No. 4L Rancho at No. 1M Doral Academy
No. 3D Silverado at No. 2S Cimarron-Memorial
No. 4M Spring Valley at No. 1L Canyon Springs
No. 3S Legacy vs. No. 2D Tech at Del Sol
Class 3A
Southern League tournament
League quarterfinals
Monday
At higher seeds at 6 p.m.
Game 1: No. 5 The Meadows at No. 4 Boulder City
Game 2: No. 6 Pahrump Valley at No. 3 Moapa Valley
League quarterfinals
Wednesday
At Virgin Valley
The Meadows-Boulder City winner vs. No. 1 Equipo Academy, 4 p.m.
Pahrump Valley-Moapa Valley winner vs. No. 2 Virgin Valley, 6 p.m.
Playoffs at a glance
Here is breakdown of the girls soccer playoffs.
Class 5A
League champion: Coronado
Co-favorites: Coronado and Faith Lutheran
Coronado and Faith Lutheran have combined to win the past five state titles in the top classification since 2019. The two teams split their regular season meetings — Faith Lutheran with a 2-1 home win and Coronado a 1-0 home win.
Dark horse: None
It's Coronado's and Faith Lutheran's title to lose. Faith Lutheran did lose to Arbor View 1-0 in September, but the Crusaders crushed the Aggies 8-0 on Oct. 15.
Potential first-round upset: Bishop Gorman over Centennial
Bishop Gorman and Centennial split their two regular season meetings, both wins by each team by one goal, so this game should be close. The game is at Centennial, and the Bulldogs are the higher seed.
Class 4A
League champions: Green Valley (Desert), Doral Academy (Mountain), Canyon Springs (Lake), Palo Verde (Sky)
Co-favorites: Palo Verde and Doral Academy
Palo Verde, which was in 5A last year, has outscored opponents 121-11. Doral Academy gave Palo Verde its only defeat from a 4A opponent. The Dragons have allowed five goals all season.
With how the bracket shapes up, Doral Academy and Palo Verde wouldn't play until the region title game. Other teams to watch include Green Valley and Canyon Springs.
Dark horse: Sierra Vista
A host of teams could be in this spot. Sierra Vista has wins over Doral Academy and Canyon Springs in the regular season. The Mountain Lions have conceded just eight goals.
Potential first-round upset: Silverado over Cimarron-Memorial
4A is top-heavy, and there might not be any upsets. But of the opening-round games, this should be one of the closer ones. Silverado battled with Green Valley and Tech in the tougher Desert League.
Class 3A
League champion: Equipo Academy
Favorite: Equipo Academy
Equipo Academy ran away with the league title and outscored league opponents 53-7. The Yetis will get back to the state tournament for the second straight year.
Dark horse: Virgin Valley
Virgin Valley tied with Equipo Academy 1-1 on Oct. 8. The Southern League semifinals and title games are at Virgin Valley, which will give the Bulldogs a boost.
Potential first-round upset: None
Moapa Valley and Boulder City should beat Pahrump Valley and The Meadows, respectively, in their opening-round games on their home fields.
