Second-half rally lifts Gaels to win

Eventually Bishop Gorman's boys have to run out of aces up their sleeves.

Every time the deck appears stacked against the Gaels in the soccer postseason, they come up with another trick.

Thursday was no different.

Down 2-0 with five minutes to play in a Sunset Region semifinal against Centennial at Bettye Wilson Park, the two-time defending Class 4A state champions didn't blink. They scored twice in regulation, including Ramak Roohani's tying goal with three seconds left, and won the match 3-2 on Nic Eary's goal 13 minutes into overtime.

"They're just such a resilient bunch," Gorman coach Nick Arbelaez said. "This team has battled through so much adversity, and we have so much experience."

The Gaels (16-6-1), who won twice in overtime and overcame a 3-1 deficit in their three regional matches last year, probably should have been ousted by the Bulldogs (16-2).

Centennial controlled play even after taking a 2-0 lead on headers by Matt Kurtz and Oscar Moran, both off throw-ins by Kevin Rogge.

The Gaels pulled within 2-1 with four minutes to play when Sean Zaher drove home a pass from Austin Cain.

Rogge missed on a partial breakaway before Gorman came back down the right side of the field.

A crossing pass ricocheted to Roohani, who settled the ball, stepped around a defender and scored inside the left post.

Playing short-handed in overtime because of a red card, Gorman still prevailed.

Roohani crossed a ball from the left side that skimmed the top of Cain's head and came to Eary on the right side. Eary, who scored the winning goal in each of the last two state title matches, buried the shot and sent Gorman to the Sunset final against Clark at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Clark 2, Palo Verde 0 -- Playing on an injured ankle that briefly forced him out of the match, Clark goalkeeper Omar Magana made nine saves to help the Chargers advance.

Clark (17-1-2) took a 1-0 lead on Jerson Pinto's goal with two minutes left in the first half.

The Chargers bumped the lead to 2-0 when Victor Solis knocked in Pinto's corner kick eight minutes into the second.

Magana took care of the rest, making five of his saves in the second half.

Palo Verde finished 12-6.

SUNRISE REGION

An hour into a scoreless tie, Josh Cormier felt compelled to lift his team on his shoulders.

With two goals in a nine-minute stretch, that's what the Eldorado senior forward did.

Cormier scored unassisted in the 62nd and 71st minutes to lift the Sundevils to a 2-0 Sunrise Region semifinal win over Chaparral (6-7-3).

"There was a lot of anger at halftime," Cormier said. "As the captain, I had to lead my team to victory."

The Sundevils added an additional forward in the second half to combat double teaming of Cormier, who has overcome nagging muscle pull injuries this season.

"If he had a full season, he would have had twice as many goals," Eldorado coach Gerald Pentsil said. "What you saw tonight is the way he can be."

Senior goalkeeper Alberto Alvarez had seven saves in the shutout for the Sundevils (13-1-5).

Eldorado will face Las Vegas in a showdown pitting the top two seeds at 10 a.m. Saturday.

• Las Vegas 2, Green Valley 1 -- The Wildcats dominated time of possession until allowing a goal in the final 10 minutes and held on to win the Sunrise Region semifinal.

Joaquin Rivas and Jaime Toscano scored for Las Vegas (13-0-3), which is one win from reaching state for the second time in three years.

"It should have been four or five (goals) at halftime," Wildcats coach Vince Hart said. "We missed simple chances that we don't usually miss."

Danny Sanchez had an assist for Las Vegas.

Alejandro Pacheco scored on an assist from Alex Chun for Green Valley (11-4-3).