No. 3 Mica Mountain advances to the Open Division championship after the Thunderbolts went on the road to defeat No. 2 Catalina Foothills 1-0 Wednesday night. Mica Mountain (18-3) came out of the 4A Conference and Catalina Foothills (21-1-3) is the top-ranked team from the 5A Conference. The top team from the 6A ranks, No. 1 Sunnyside (21-2-2), lost to No. 9 Sunrise Mountain 3-1 in the quarterfinal round and Sunrise Mountain (18-3-3) went on to beat No. 5 Brophy Prep 5-0 in the other semifinal match Wednesday night to set up the championship with Mica Mountain, set for Monday night at Mesa High School.
The Thunderbolts and Falcons went scoreless, with no shots on goal, through 20 minutes but that changed in the 27th when Tate Peele found the back of the net for Mica Mountain. That goal held up through 53 more minutes of play but the Falcons had several opportunities to score, including hitting the bottom of the crossbar with several minutes left to play. The Falcons took 11 shots in the match but Benjamin Weinzinger came up with seven saves to help keep the team off the scoreboard.
Mica Mountain lost to Salpointe 4-2 in the 2024 4A championship match and the Thunderbolts lost in the 4A semifinal round last year. Sunrise Mountain won the 5A state championship last winter after taking runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2024. The Mustangs are playing well above their No. 9 ranking and the Bolts have more than lived up to their high ranking so this should be an exciting championship final.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25
BOYS SOCCER OPEN SEMIFINAL
No. 3 Mica Mountain 1, No. 2 Catalina Foothills 0
4A-5A BOYS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
5A: No. 10 Fairfax 2, No. 3 Cienega 1
4A: No. 6 Ironwood Ridge 3, No. 2 Thunderbird 0
4A-6A BOYS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
6A: No. 6 Tucson 89, No. 11 Apollo 64
5A: No. 12 Carl Hayden 73, No. 5 Cienega 65 (OT)
5A: No. 7 Canyon View 79, No. 10 Buena 42
5A: No. 2 Mountain Pointe 68, No. 15 Mountain View 45
5A: No. 1 Willow Canyon 88, No. 16 Catalina Foothills 56
4A: No. 3 Sahuaro 64, No. 14 Mesquite 53
4A: No. 6 Saguaro 82, No. 11 Cholla 60
4A: No. 5 Westview 72, No. 12 Ironwood Ridge 58
4A: No. 4 Cactus Shadows 67, No. 13 Salpointe 64
Mica Mountain with the Open Division Ticket!!!! 1-0 over Catalina Foothills. #azpreps365 pic.twitter.com/Q4QPD7AM84
— Andy Morales (@AZPreps365Andy) February 26, 2026
No. 3 Mica Mountain sophomore Tate Peele came up with his 14th goal of the season with a game-winning shot in the 27th minute to help pace the Bolts past No. 2 Catalina Foothills 1-0. #azpreps365 pic.twitter.com/SiFGr7uK9n
— Andy Morales (@AZPreps365Andy) February 26, 2026
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26
4A-6A GIRLS BASKETBALL FIRST ROUND
6A: No. 14 Liberty at No. 3 Sunnyside, 7 p.m.
5A: No. 14 Carl Hayden at No. 3 Catalina Foothills, 7 p.m.
5A: No. 11 Sunrise Mountain at No. 6 Nogales, 7 p.m.
5A: No. 10 Desert Mountain at No. 7 Cienega
4A: No. 16 Amphitheater at No. 1 Salpointe, 7 p.m.
4A: No. 10 Eastmark at No. 7 Ironwood Ridge, 7 p.m.
4A: No. 12 Walden Grove at No. 5 Flagstaff, 7 p.m.
4A: No. 14 Sahuarita at No. 3 Mica Mountain, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27
4A GIRLS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP AT MESA
No. 2 Salpointe vs. No. 1 Queen Creek Crismon, 4 p.m.
4A BOYS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP AT MESA
No. 6 Ironwood Ridge vs. No. 1 ALA-Gilbert North, 7 p.m.
3A BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINAL AT VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM
No. 1 Palo Verde vs. No. 4 Seton Catholic, 9 a.m.
1A BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP AT VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM
No. 10 St. David vs. No. 1 Ft. Thomas, 3:30 p.m.
4A/6A BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
6A: No. 6 Tucson at No. 3 Chandler, 7 p.m.
4A: No. 6 Saguaro at No. 3 Sahuaro, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28
5A GIRLS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINAL
No. 8 North/No. 9 Buckeye at No. 1 Pueblo, 7 p.m.
MONDAY, MARCH 2
BOYS SOCCER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT MESA
No. 3 Mica Mountain vs. No. 9 Sunrise Mountain, 7 p.m.
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