Sanchez helps Las Vegas boys capture state crown

There were probably several words to sum up Danny Sanchez’s performance for Las Vegas on Saturday at Bettye Wilson Park.
Wildcats coach Vince Hart chose an awfully good one though.

“He was magic,” Hart said of Sanchez, who scored two goals — including the eventual game winner — and had an assist as Las Vegas rallied from a 2-1 second-half deficit to defeat Galena 4-2 and capture the school’s first Class 4A boys soccer state title.

“He played very, very well,” Hart said of Sanchez, who became eligible to play only near the end of the regular season. “He and Joaquin (Rivas) have developed an understanding in the last three weeks, and it’s just good soccer players doing what good soccer players are going to do.”

Sanchez’s speed gave the Grizzlies fits. His accuracy frustrated them. His scoring ability buried them, after Galena entered the match having allowed only 19 goals all year.

“It was all about teamwork, and we were patient,” Sanchez said. “I’ve never been this far. To get this far and then win it is just incredible.”

After Rivas tied the match in the 51st minute on a penalty kick, Sanchez put Las Vegas ahead for good five minutes later when he collected Jaime Toscano’s cross from along the end line and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the net.

In the 65th minute, Sanchez gathered a loose ball near midfield, stepped around two Galena defenders as if they weren’t even there and slid a perfect pass ahead to Michael Boldry. Boldry sidestepped one more defender in the box and scored with a shot into the lower right corner of the net.

With less than 10 minutes left in the match, Sanchez almost pulled off a highlight-reel play, beating four Galena defenders before having the ball taken away just as he was about to shoot.

At that point, the Wildcats had a 20-5 edge in shots as Las Vegas’ team speed was too much for Galena to handle.

“Their speed was huge up top,” Galena coach Marco Merlo said.

The Grizzlies, who beat Bishop Gorman in penalty kicks after the teams played 110 scoreless minutes Friday night, were understandably tired.

But even after falling behind in the second minute of the match when Sanchez headed in Ricky Suazo’s deep cross, the Grizzlies battled back to take a 2-1 lead.

Dylan Neff knocked in a rebound of a free kick in the 10th minute, and the Grizzlies went ahead when a throw-in early in the second half deflected off two Wildcats and into the net.

“My God, that’s a tough team,” Hart said. “They extended us. They’re very, very physical. I’m real pleased that our skill and our class took over the game in the second half. We won by playing soccer.”

Rivas tied the match just three minutes after Galena took the lead, blasting in the penalty-kick goal after a teammate was tackled in the box.

Galena had two quality scoring chances stopped by Wildcats backup goalkeeper Braxton Boyer in the closing minutes.

Boyer, who replaced starter Aaron Lopez with about five minutes to play, made a beautiful tip save on Jacob Eisert’s shot from 18 yards out, then stopped Max Dugan on a penalty kick with one minute left.

“We’re part of the elite teams now,” Hart said. “It was just the right time for this group to win a state championship.”