SUNSET REGION: Second-half surge carries Bengals past Spartans

After his team played a “lackadaisical” first half, Daniel Hernandez wanted to see Bonanza’s boys soccer team play with a sense of urgency Tuesday.

The senior midfielder didn’t take long to provide exactly the spark the Bengals were looking for, and his teammates soon followed.

Hernandez and Sergio Rodriguez scored in the first 15 minutes of the second half and Bonanza held on for a 2-1 victory over Cimarron-Memorial in a Sunset Region quarterfinal at Bettye Wilson Park.

“I think it was the nerves of a playoff game,” Bengals coach Thomas Rainey said of the scoreless first half. “They played decent in the first half, but in the second they stepped up and started playing the way we should be playing. They were passing and doing everything correct.”

Robert Sagel assisted on both the goals. The sophomore forward found Hernandez open in the middle of the field for the goal to give Bonanza (17-2-0) the lead for good.

“Robert gave a good ball and I put it in the back of the net. We had a good play,” Hernandez said.

Rodriguez scored less than 10 minutes later, taking a pass from Sagel and shooting the ball off the bottom of the right post and into the net.

Sophomore forward Gerardo Zacarias scored with about 20 minutes remaining to pull Cimarron to within 2-1, but the Spartans (9-6-4) couldn’t recover from Bonanza’s surge early in the second half.

Rainey said Hernandez’s go-ahead goal was crucial in setting the tone.

“We had an open ball right through the middle, everything you plan for on paper,” Rainey said. “It just worked out perfectly for us. That was a huge goal; it lifted a lot of pressure off our team.”

Bonanza, the No. 2 seed from the Southwest League, advanced to face Northwest champion Legacy in a semifinal Thursday.

In other Sunset quarterfinals:

Palo Verde 2, Western 0 — Matej Kustura scored in the 58th minute to give the Panthers the lead for good, and Alexander Shackley scored on an assist from Julian Portugal in the 77th minute to help the Panthers eliminate the Warriors.

“They shut us down pretty good in the first half, but in the second half, we were starting to get the upper hand on them a little bit and control the ball,” Palo Verde coach Kevin Hagood said. “(Kustura) buried the shot and it took pressure off. Now the other team had to chase the game, and we could defend a little better. The pressure was off us.”

Panthers senior goalkeeper Colton McCann made eight saves in the shutout.

Palo Verde (13-1-3), the No. 2 seed from the Northwest, advanced to face Southwest champion Bishop Gorman in a semifinal Thursday.

Western finished 12-5-0.

Bishop Gorman 1, Arbor View 0 — Michael Gray scored on a header off an assist from Rian McEvoy in the 26th minute and the Gaels (16-0-1) held on to eliminate the Aggies (10-3-8).

Gorman goalkeeper Thomas Olsen posted a three-save shutout in a physical game in which the teams combined for nine yellow cards.

Legacy 2, Spring Valley 0 — Stefan Skrinjaric and Saul Aguirre scored in the second half to lift the Longhorns (16-1-1) past the Grizzlies (12-6-1).

Aguirre and Ramon Carvajal assisted on the goals. Legacy’s Carvajal recorded two saves in the shutout.