SUNSET REGION: Pair of second-half goals push Panthers into semifinals

Falling behind is never a good thing for a soccer team.

But on a day when his team faced a 30 mph headwind in the first half, Palo Verde coach Kevin Hagood felt just fine about going into halftime trailing 1-0.

And the Panthers took advantage of the wind in the second half, netting a pair of goals to defeat Sierra Vista 2-1 in the first round of the Sunset Region tournament at Faith Lutheran on Tuesday.

“I thought 1-0 was a victory for us, because they had so many opportunities,” Hagood said. “I thought we took the momentum away in the first half.”

Palo Verde (13-4-1) tied the game in the 51st minute when A.J. Henry took a pass from Isaac Ruffer inside the penalty box and put his shot into the upper right corner.

Sierra Vista (15-4) nearly retook the lead in the 64th minute, but Panthers goalkeeper Joshua Dinsmore made a diving save of a Miles McRae shot to preserve the tie.

Two minutes later, the Panthers took the lead for good. Midfielder Alexander Shackley got the ball to Jose Silva Rivas, and his shot went off the inside of the far post and into the net for the game winner.

“He’s just been a gift to our program,” Hagood said of Rivas, an exchange student from Paraguay. “He’s an amazing kid. He’s just been a real blessing to our program.”

Palo Verde advances to the Sunset semifinals for the fourth consecutive year, and Shackley said the way his team came from behind shows that the Panthers belong with the other top teams in the region.

“It’s exhilarating,” Shackley said. “We’ve been working hard all season, so to push through like that in the second half, I think it’s deserved that we get to go on to the next round.”

Truitt Evans scored on an assist from McRae in the game’s sixth minute to give Sierra Vista an early lead. But the Mountain Lions, who entered the game averaging 4.2 goals, didn’t score again.

“I’ve heard that Sierra Vista’s been good all season long, but our defense has been solid,” Shackley said. “Our defense, we kept our heads up after the first goal and kept battling through the rest of the game.”

Legacy 3, Durango 0 — At Faith Lutheran, Jorge Gonzalez scored twice to help the defending state champions top the Trailblazers (7-8-4).

Antonio Velasquez added a goal for Legacy (15-1-2). The Longhorns controlled the game in the second half while playing with the wind, putting a barrage of shots on goal.

The score might have been more lopsided if not for Durango goalkeeper Richard Zavala, who finished with 12 saves, including a handful from point-blank range.

“It’s the playoffs. Everybody’s out to play, so you never know what to expect in the first game,” Legacy coach Jose Gomez said. “We wanted to make a statement and see what we could do.”

Ramon Carvajal was credited with the shutout for Legacy, which will play Palo Verde in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Arbor View.

Centennial 5, Clark 3 — At Arbor View, Blake Frischknecht scored three goals, and the Bulldogs (16-3) bolted to a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the match before holding off the Chargers (13-4-2).

Chance Rosa added a goal and an assist, and Erik Christiansen had two assists for Centennial, which had a 4-1 lead before Clark rallied to within 4-3 at the half.

Centennial goalkeeper Aidan Parker tallied the lone second-half goal when his wind-aided punt traveled the length of the field.

Jorge Betancourt scored twice for Clark. Isaac Huerta added a goal and an assist for the Chargers.

Bishop Gorman 3, Cimarron-Memorial 0 — At Arbor View, Mike Tonetti connected on a penalty-kick goal, and Sean Keith and Blake Balelo each scored once to help the Gaels (17-1-2) top the Spartans (9-7-3).

Thomas Olsen was in goal for the shutout for Gorman, which will face Centennial at 4 p.m. Thursday at Arbor View.