SUNRISE REGION: Flores uses head, gives Roadrunners win

In 13 seasons as Tech’s boys soccer coach, Josh Jones had never seen anything like it. Or felt such a thrill.

Sophomore defender Hugo Flores scored on a header off Julio Vargas’ corner kick with about five seconds left to give Tech a 3-2 victory over host Valley in the first round of the Sunrise Region tournament Tuesday.

Flores’ heroics completed Tech’s rally from a 2-0 halftime deficit, and sent the Roadrunners (15-3-1) into the semifinals against Eldorado (16-2-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Rancho.

“Any time you have a corner kick, or any set piece, you have an opportunity to score,” an emotional Jones said. “With 30 seconds left, we pushed some guys up, and it went in. I think (Vargas) hit it in the right place, got the goalkeeper in the right position, and with a ball like that, it’s difficult for the defending team.”

Flores said he felt “very confident” heading into the corner kick, and seized the opportunity to score just inside the left post.

“I’m just happy we won, and I scored the winning goal. I feel so proud,” Flores said. “We were thinking positive, and we’re going to the second round.”

Jones wasn’t surprised to see one of his defenders score the winning goal.

“Our defenders are some of our better headers,” he said. “They come up on corner kicks all the time, we practice it, and it worked out this time.”

Valley (11-6) looked to be on its way to the semifinals with a 2-0 lead following goals from Eddie Flores in the 11th minute and Bruno Carrillo in the 31st minute.

But Tech finally broke through in the 57th minute, when Derian Salcido scored on an assist from Oscar Velazquez.

Vargas gave the Roadrunners the equalizer in the 74th minute, scoring on a perfectly placed shot beneath the crossbar from 32 yards out. That set the stage for Hugo Flores’ decisive header.

“We never put our heads down,” Hugo Flores said of the comeback. “We played well, and then the wind was on our side (after halftime), so I think that was a big factor.”

Jones agreed.

“I think the wind in the first half helped Valley, and it helped us in the second half as well,” he said. “We started playing with a little more confidence.”

Eldorado 9, Foothill 3 — Edgar Duran had three goals and one assist to help the Sundevils roll past the Falcons (9-8-1).

Ruben Duran had two goals and one assist for Eldorado, which led 4-0 less than 29 minutes into the match.

“They’re brothers and have played together for a long time,” Sundevils coach Gerald Pentsil said of the Duran duo. “They’re very unselfish, and that’s really helped us. As good as they are with that, it’s helped the other players.”

Eldorado led 6-1 at halftime.

Antonio Murrillo had two goals and one assist for Eldorado, which got one goal and one assist each from Luis Cruz and Jesse Marta.

Chris Perez had three assists for Eldorado.

Rodrigo Ampuero, A.J. Stubberud and Max Weiland scored for Foothill, and teammate Jackson Dietrich had two assists.

Green Valley 1, Las Vegas 0 — At Rancho, Philip McGovern made 11 saves, including a crucial stop in the final 30 seconds, to help the Gators (11-4-1) upend the Wildcats (14-4-1).

Ivan Rodriguez’s first-half goal, off an assist from Mitchell Parker, accounted for the only scoring.

Desert Pines 1, Coronado 0 — At Rancho, Brian Cardona’s first-half goal, off an assist from Alberto Salazar, allowed the Jaguars (9-5-3) to stun the Southeast League champion Cougars (17-3), breaking Coronado’s 13-match winning streak.

Sergio Rodriguez made five saves en route to the shutout for Desert Pines, which will face Green Valley at 4 p.m. Thursday at Rancho.