Late goal sends Palo Verde boys soccer into region title game — PHOTOS
Palo Verde’s Jonathan Villanueva was trying to transition back to defense when he looked up and saw a long pass sailing his way.
Villanueva waited for the ball to bounce, settled it and put a shot inside the near post with 90 seconds to play to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 home victory over Las Vegas High in the Class 5A Southern Region boys soccer semifinals on Wednesday.
“I was actually going to drop down, and I saw the ball in the air,” said Villanueva, a junior midfielder. “And so I turned around and quickly went, and I saw the ball coming down. I tried to control it and I just covered the ball, turned and shot it.”
Most of Palo Verde’s players had moved toward the offensive end of the field as the Panthers (13-3-3) made a final push late in regulation. Las Vegas cleared the ball, but Panthers goalkeeper Landon Blanchard came well off his line to get it and quickly sent it back toward the other end.
The quick transition gave Villanueva the space he needed to send the Panthers into the region championship game. Palo Verde, the Mountain League’s No. 1 seed, plays Coronado (22-0), the Desert League’s top seed, at noon Saturday at Coronado for the title. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament in Reno.
“You know, we played the ball into the box,” Palo Verde coach Scott Hunt said of the winning goal. “It was kind of bouncing a little bit, and I think he kind of shielded off the defender. And he turned and somehow got it in. I have no idea. It was even tough to see, there were so many players in the box at the time. But somehow he turned and just took the shot and it went in.”
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half on a penalty kick by Evan Odle.
But the Wildcats turned up the heat in the second half and Blanchard had to make a flurry of saves to hang onto the lead.
Las Vegas (11-5-5-4), the Desert League’s No. 2 seed, finally tied the game on a free kick by Cesar Ruelas in the 60th minute. Ruelas drilled a left-footed shot from about 25 yards out.
Blanchard finished with 10 saves, including eight in the second half.
“He’s a great goalkeeper,” Hunt said. “I think he was keeper of the year last year. Hopefully, he gets it again this year.
“He’s very, very talented. He saved us a few times.”
Coronado defeated Palo Verde 3-0 in last season’s region title game, and the Cougars knocked off the Panthers 7-2 on Oct. 15.
“We’re going to go the finals and play against Coronado, and it’s going to be a good game,” Villanueva said. “They say that Coronado is undefeated, but you know, anything can happen. I feel like it’s going to be a good game against them.”
* No. 1D Coronado 8, No. 2M Faith Lutheran 1: At Coronado, Gavin Flickinger scored four goals to lead the Cougars to the region title game and another state tournament.
The win was Coronado’s 52nd consecutive victory. The Cougars have tied the state record for most consecutive games without a loss. Bishop Gorman set the record with a 47-0-5 stretch from 2008 to 2010.
Flickinger leads the state with 60 goals. He tied the state record he set last year for most goals (6o) by a player in the top classification.
Dylan Flores and Aiden Sena both had a goal and three assists for the Cougars.
Faith Lutheran, the Mountain League’s No. 2 seed, ended its season at 12-6-6.
