SUNSET GIRLS SOCCER: Vicente, Aggies claim third straight crown

Haley Vicente has a remarkable sense of timing.

The senior forward for the Arbor View girls soccer team scored the winning goal in the Division I Sunset Region semifinals on Thursday, and she came through again Saturday afternoon when the Aggies needed it most.

Vicente scored three times, including two goals in a four-minute span late in the second half, to lift Arbor View to a 4-3 victory over Palo Verde in the region final at Heritage Park.

“She makes big plays at big times, for sure,” Aggies coach Jay Howard said.

Arbor View (18-2-1), which won its third straight Sunset championship, advances to the Division I state tournament and will face a team to be determined at 6 p.m. Friday at Heritage Park. The Aggies are the two-time defending state champions.

Palo Verde (14-4-4) takes on Sunrise Region runner-up Green Valley (16-5-1) at 6 p.m. on Monday at Clark for the final berth at state.

“I’m really happy that we were able to do this one with these girls,” Howard said, pointing to his seven seniors. “They’ve kind of been the group going through. This year, I coached it differently than any other year. We’ve always said every position is open in the preseason, and this year I said, ‘Look we’ve got this group of girls that have done it; it’s their year to do it.’ And they took the role and did it.”

The Panthers erased a 2-0 halftime deficit in the opening 11 minutes of the second half, but Vicente broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. She picked up the ball near midfield and raced past a Palo Verde defender before blasting in a low shot that made it 3-2.

In the 74th minute, Jamie Wilson sent a pass into the penalty area, and Vicente headed it to herself to avoid one defender. She then controlled the ball and knocked it into the empty net to complete her hat trick and give the Aggies an all-important two-goal lead.

“When they scored the tying goal, I felt a little down, but I knew I had to try to bring the team up, try to rally them,” Vicente said. “I feel like when we need big things to happen, I try my hardest to make it happen.”

Vicente converted a penalty kick midway through the first half to give Arbor View a 1-0 lead, and Katelyn Laurente redirected Allyssa Larkin’s cross in the 31st minute to put the Aggies up 2-0.

Jadyn Nogues had two goals for Palo Verde, including a header off a free kick in the 78th minute that cut the Aggies’ lead to 4-3. Tessa Dwyer scored in the 44th minute to make 2-1, and teammate Macee Barlow added two assists for the Panthers.

“Any time you’re up 2-0, the first five to 10 minutes of the second half is crucial,” Howard said. “They’re going to press, and it’s how you absorb the pressure. We didn’t do a great job of it, but a lot of that is Palo did a great job pressuring.”