No. 2 Pusch Ridge defeated No. 1 Gilbert Christian 2-1 on Saturday at Scottsdale Coronado High School to claim its first state championship in boys soccer.
Gilbert Christian (15-6) scored early on a goal by Kaleb Powell from 15 yards in traffic to lead 1-0.
Pusch Ridge (20-4) scored its first goal at the 29-minute mark on Kegan Dorschner’s 20-yard shot in traffic.
Less than a minute later, Collin Tompkins scored a goal to give Pusch Ridge its 2-1 lead.
“This is great. We have a core of seniors and we worked four years to get to this point. We are just excited they were able to finally get it,” Pusch Ridge coach Geoff Neale told AZPreps365.
The win for the Lions helped avenge a loss to Gilbert Christian in last year’s quarterfinals, when the Knights used penalty kicks to break a 1-1 tie to advance.
“It feels great. We’ve been unlucky in past playoff games, but this time we deserve it,” said Lions’ goalie Brandon Rhodes told AZPreps365. “(Last year’s loss) was on all of our minds coming in, but we just blocked it out and took care of business.”
BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS
Salpointe (10)
1985: 5A (Wolfgang Weber)
1986: 5A (Wolfgang Weber)
1996: 5A (Wolfgang Weber)
2004: 5A (Wolfgang Weber)
2012: D-II (Wolfgang Weber)
2013: D-II (Wolfgang Weber)
2019: 4A (Wolfgang Weber)
2021: 4A (Wolfgang Weber)
2022: 4A (Wolfgang Weber)
2023: 4A (Wolfgang Weber)
Catalina Foothills (4)
2001: 4A (Julie Walters)
2006: 4A-I (Julie Walters)
2008: 4A-I (Julie Walters)
2011: 4A-I (Julie Walters)
Rincon/UHS (3)
1997: 4A (Roxanne Taylor)
1998: 4A (Roxanne Taylor)
2007: 4A-I (Roxanne Taylor)
Canyon del Oro (2)
2009: 4A-I (Josh Marshall)
2010: 4A-I (Josh Marshall)
Desert Christian (2)
1996: 1A-3A (Dave Defer)
1997: 1A-3A (John O’Hair)
Douglas (2)
2006: 4A-II (Ken Cormier)
2009: 4A-II (Ken Cormier)
Sabino (2)
1995: 4A (Ron Fox)
2005: 4A (Jon Pearlman)
Benson
2006: 1A-3A (Jim Howe)
Mountain View
2007: 5A-II (Mike Corbus)
Pueblo
2016: D-IV (Francisco Urtuzuastegui)
Pusch Ridge
2024: 3A (Geoff Neale)
Rio Rico
2007: 4A-II (Dagoberto Lopez)
Sahuaro
1988: 5A (James Bishop)
Sunnyside
2019: 5A (Casey O’Brien)
Tucson High
2014: D-II (Ismael Arce)
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