SUNRISE BOYS SOCCER: Gonzalez, Sanchez propel Valley over Eldorado

For most of this season, the Valley boys soccer team had only 13 players on its roster. It has been a lucky number for the Vikings.

Marco Gonzalez had a goal and two assists, and Eric Sanchez added a goal and an assist as Valley knocked off defending state champion Eldorado 3-1 on Monday in the Division I Sunrise Region quarterfinals at Heritage Park.

Valley (13-3), the No. 1 seed from the Northeast League, meets Coronado (12-7-2) in the semifinals. Coronado defeated Canyon Springs 2-0 to advance.

“This is pretty big,” said second-year Vikings coach Angel Pantaleon. “Two years ago, they didn’t even win a game. And then, when I came last year, we won (seven) and barely missed the playoffs because of a (penalty kick). We had some returning players, and they work pretty hard.”

Valley dominated possession for most of the first half with its one-touch passing, but Eldorado (13-5-1) had the best chance as Israel Hernandez tracked down a long pass from Eddie Mercado and forced a key save from goalkeeper Jesus Enriquez in the 31st minute.

Less than a minute later, Gonzalez latched onto a pass from Sanchez and smashed home a left-footed shot to put the Vikings on top 1-0.

“That was a big momentum swing,” Pantaleon said. “If they would have scored there, it probably would have stayed stagnant for a little bit. We didn’t expect them to be as powerful as they were up front.”

Damian Alvarez scored in the 46th minute off Gonzalez’s corner kick to give Valley a 2-0 edge, and Gonzalez set up Sanchez in the 55th minute for a 3-0 lead.

“They are usually pretty good,” Pantaleon said of Gonzalez and Sanchez, who have combined for 45 goals and 23 assists this season. “They do their plays up top together.”

Mercado converted a penalty kick in the 62nd minute for Eldorado, which hit the post three times in the second half.

“I used to coach over there for eight years, and then I came (to Valley),” Pantaleon said. “I know most of the players on the other side, so it’s bittersweet I guess. If I wouldn’t have won, I would have hoped they would have taken the whole thing.”

Foothill 3, Liberty 2 — Jackson Dietrich had two goals, including the game-winner five minutes into the first overtime, to lift the Falcons (18-3) past the Patriots (7-10-3) in an intense quarterfinal between the former league rivals.

Foothill, the top seed from the Southeast League, meets Northeast No. 2 Las Vegas (15-1-2) in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Heritage Park.

Dietrich took a pass from Jesse Lima at the top of the 18-yard box and made one dribble to create space before driving a shot into the lower-right corner. The goal came less than a minute after Foothill goalkeeper Derek Lawson stopped Liberty’s Adam Musovski from point-blank range.

Dietrich tied the game at 1-1 in the 50th minute and also set up Robert Cowan in the 63rd minute to make it 2-2.

Liberty took a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes remaining until halftime when Joey Hollimon scored on a free kick after Lawson was whistled for a handball. Musovski gave the Patriots a 2-1 advantage in the 60th minute when he headed in a corner kick from Mario Amesquita.

Las Vegas 3, Green Valley 2 — Efrain Pinal scored 10 minutes into the second overtime as the Wildcats survived some tense moments late to defeat the Gators (14-10-1).

Alexis Barrios had two first-half goals for Las Vegas, which played the overtime with 10 men after a straight red card to goalkeeper Enrique Adame in the 79th minute. Green Valley’s Maliq Cooper scored on the subsequent penalty kick to tie the game at 2-2 and send it to sudden-death overtime.

The Gators nearly won it in the first extra session, but reserve keeper Miguel Navarrete came up huge for the Wildcats. Navarrette pushed Antonio Trama’s long shot onto the crossbar in the 83rd minute and also made a diving stop on Cooper’s drive that was headed into the lower-right corner.

In the second overtime, Randy Casas raced down the left wing and crossed to Pinal, who buried his shot into the top of the goal for the winner.

Connor Malone scored late in the first half for the Gators after a scramble in front of the goal to cut Las Vegas’ lead to 2-1.

Coronado 2, Canyon Springs 0 — Diego Osuna and Justin Lyons each had a goal, and the Cougars blanked the Pioneers (13-6-2) in the quarterfinals.

Harrison Skinner had two key stops late in the first half and finished with six saves for Coronado, which played the final 31 minutes with 10 men.

Osuna opened the scoring in the ninth minute, while Lyons notched his Southern Nevada-leading 40th goal in the 55th minute.

Canyon Springs had the ball in the back of the net in the 70th minute, but it was waved off due to offsides.