Rivas powers Wildcats’ win

Saturday's Sunrise Region boys soccer championship game was less than a minute from going to sudden-death overtime when the ball ended up under the control of Las Vegas playmaker Joaquin Rivas.

Game over.

Rivas buried a shot from near the top of the penalty area with about 30 seconds to play to give the Wildcats a 3-2 win over Eldorado at Bettye Wilson Park for the title.

"It feels great. The moment I hit it, I knew it was going in," Rivas said.

The win clinched a berth in next week's state tournament.

Las Vegas (14-0-3) had a throw-in with about a minute left in regulation. Rivas gathered the ball near the top of the penalty area. He turned left and ripped a shot just under the crossbar.

"Nothing really came of the throw-in, and then all of a sudden Joaquin has the ball, which is always kind of nice for us," Las Vegas coach Vince Hart said.

Rivas having the ball has been bad news for Eldorado (13-2-5) all season. The teams played to a pair of 1-1 ties in the regular season, and Rivas scored both Las Vegas goals.

"What a tough way to lose," Eldorado coach Gerald Pentsil said. "But their money player came through for them. We knew what a dangerous player he was."

The game-winning score was Rivas' second goal of the game. His first came in the 34th minute off a pass from Jaime Toscano to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

Eldorado came back to cut the Wildcats' lead to 2-1 in the 36th minute on a Josh Cormier penalty kick.

The Sundevils then tied the score on a 25-yard free kick by Cormier in the 72nd minute.

Eldorado plays Sunset runner-up Clark at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Bettye Wilson Park for Southern Nevada's final berth in next week's Class 4A state tournament.

SUNSET REGION

Bishop Gorman finally solved Clark, winning 2-0 in the Sunset Region championship game at Bettye Wilson Park, in their third meeting of the season.

The Chargers (17-2-1) beat Gorman 3-2 on Sept. 23, and the teams tied 3-3 on Oct. 22.

"Clark is a good opponent, and we struggled with them all year," Gaels coach Nick Arbelaez said. "We peak at the right time."

The Gaels took an early lead after forward Austin Cain was taken down in the penalty area in the 25th minute. Cody Barnett scored on the ensuing penalty kick to put Gorman (17-6-1) up 1-0.

The Gaels took a 2-0 lead in the 46th minute when Cain broke behind the Chargers' defense and beat the goalkeeper.

Gorman played a man down for the final 26 minutes after midfielder Sean Zaher received his second yellow card.

"These kids play with so much heart, and they wear their emotions on their sleeve," Arbelaez said. "I can teach them all the skill in the world, but you can't teach heart."

The victory earned the two-time defending state champion Gaels a spot in next week's Class 4A state tournament.

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.