Aggies settle nerves, win third title in row

Arbor View girls soccer coach Jay Howard could see how nervous his team was in the first 15 minutes Saturday.

All it took was one touch by Haley Vicente for the Aggies to finally loosen up.

Vicente scored on Arbor View’s first shot, and Vanessa Lourenco finished with two goals and three assists as the Aggies rolled to a 6-0 victory over Coronado in the Division I state title game at Heritage Park.

Allyssa Larkin added two goals for the Aggies (20-2-1), who joined North Tahoe, Reed and Truckee (twice) as the only schools to capture three consecutive state titles, according to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.

“It’s an unbelievable achievement,” Howard said. “I thought winning two was hard, and last year everything went right for us. And this year we had a little bit more adversity in games. Even though we were winning, we were giving up more goals than we did the year before and played some closer playoff games.

“I thought the kids, especially the seniors, showed so much character through the whole thing. I put a lot of pressure on them, and they came through.”

Coronado (16-8) was seeking its first state title and entered unbeaten on the field — the Cougars forfeited seven nonleague matches before the start of the Sunrise Region tournament — but the highly anticipated matchup between two of the area’s best programs turned out to be a one-sided affair.

Vicente was sent through by Lourenco in the 18th minute and poked it past Coronado goalkeeper Rachel Morris to put the Aggies up 1-0. After that, Arbor View dominated the rest of the half, taking a 4-0 lead into the break.

“We played really tight at the beginning because we had a lot of nerves,” Lourenco said. “Once Haley scored, it was relieving, and we knew we could all score and we could give a team effort.”

Lourenco had a hand in all four of the Aggies’ first-half goals, scoring in the 29th minute on a header after Jessica Longhurst flicked on Kendra Wallace’s free kick. Lourenco also assisted on goals by Sierra Vicente in the 24th minute and Larkin’s first goal, which came with five minutes remaining in the half.

“We played really good, and we finished our chances more than anything,” Howard said. “All year, even though we’ve been scoring a lot, we’ve gotten a lot of chances and maybe not scored. The last week, it’s come together where when we get them we tuck them away.”

Larkin and Lourenco also scored in the second half off assists by Haley Vicente.

Haylee Niemann had nine saves for Arbor View. She made a lunging stop on Ashley Thomas’ shot from point-blank range in the 55th minute and cleared a ball off the line following a free kick in the 67th minute.

DIVISION I-A

Sophia Omidiji sparked life into Sierra Vista when she converted a tying penalty kick with eight minutes to play in regulation.

But her equalizer, which made the score 2-2, wasn’t enough to stop defending state champion South Tahoe.

Freshman Annie Brejc picked up a deflected header and kicked it in the back of the net five minutes into overtime as the Vikings captured their fourth Division I-A state title in the past five seasons with a 3-2 victory over the Mountain Lions at Heritage Park.

“It’s all bittersweet,” Sierra Vista coach Ross Muir said. “My girls played their hearts out and left it all on the field. I’m so proud of what they accomplished this year. We shocked everyone.”

With Sierra Vista trailing 2-1, the 5-foot-2-inch Omidiji was knocked down in the box to force a penalty kick. After collecting herself, the senior tied it when she sent the ball to the lower left corner.

South Tahoe came out aggressive in overtime and broke through after Brejc rebounded a shot by Ally King, whose header initially was stopped by Sierra Vista goalkeeper Jayla Olson. In a crowded box, Brejc found an opening and lasered the ball past several defenders.

“It’s a tough way to lose,” Muir said. “That last goal was not one person’s fault. The ball hit a few people before going in.”

Sophomore Calista Reyes gave the Mountain Lions a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute after she dribbled past two defenders and sent a left-footed shot to the right post from 20 yards.

South Tahoe’s Ashlee Schouten answered in the 37th minute on an assist from King to make the score 1-1.

Then in the 16th minute of the second half, Schouten fed Maia Bickert, who sent a bouncing ball over the head of Olson to give the Vikings (21-2-1) a 2-1 lead.

Olson made six saves for the Mountain Lions (12-5-3).

“She’s the reason we’re here,” Muir said. “She bounced back from that second goal and made some great saves.”