No. 1 Salpointe beat No. 4 Arizona College Prep 4-0 Tuesday night to advance the 4A state championship match to be played against No. 2 Saguaro at Glendale High School Friday night. Saguaro beat No. 3 Goldwater 4-1 in the other semifinal match Tuesday night.
This will be the 14th championship appearance for the Lancers under legendary head coach Wolfgang Weber, which puts the program in a tie for big school appearances with Brophy Prep. The Broncos lost in the 6A semifinal round Tuesday night to keep the program at 14 final appearances. Salpointe has won three of the last four state championships for nine total and a victory Friday over Saguaro will also push the program past Brophy with ten state trophies. This will be the first final for Saguaro and the Lancers beat Saguaro in the semifinal round in 2021.
Nico Valenzuela Salpointe senior #azpreps365 pic.twitter.com/PvWSfCYurk
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) February 22, 2023
Salpointe struggled to move the ball against Arizona College Prep until Marco Zuluaga hit Leo Gutierrez in the 36th and that was followed by a penalty kick from Gutierrez two minutes later. Heavy rains started to come down and it was difficult for the Knights to recapture any kind of advantage in play from that point.
Adrian Franks found Bradyn Lambert in the 70th and Marco Torres took a Nico Valenzuela offering in the 72nd minute for a 4-0 lead. The Lancers are 22-2 overall and Saguaro is 18-2-1 and it will take maximum effort on defense for the Sabercats to upend Salpointe Friday night.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
BASKETBALL GIRLS 4A/5A QUARTERFINALS
4A: No. 4 Pueblo 57, No. 5 Sahuaro 50
4A: No. 3 Deer Valley 46, No. 6 Flowing Wells 31
5A: No. 5 Catalina Foothills 49, No. 4 Campo Verde 40
5A: No. 2 Fairfax 56, No. 7 Nogales 40
.@PuebloGirlsBB is headed to the 4A semifinals against either Saguaro or Mesquite. The Warriors defeated Sahuaro 57-50 behind the Cazares sisters – Victoria 20 points and America 17. pic.twitter.com/dOh9qpqcEj
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 22, 2023
Semifinal berths call for dance circles 💃🏽 pic.twitter.com/wODvWfLMsD
— Brittany Bowyer (@LittWithBritt) February 22, 2023
SOCCER BOYS 4A/6A SEMIFINALS AT MOUNTAIN VIEW
4A: No. 1 Salpointe 4, No. 4 AZ College Prep 0
6A: No. 5 Perry 5, No. 1 Tucson 3
No. 5 Perry advances to the 6A state championship with upset over No. 1 Tucson #azpreps365 https://t.co/1pOmdkx4V5
— AZPreps365 (@AZPreps365) February 22, 2023
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
BASKETBALL BOYS 5A QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 Cienega at No. 1 Campo Verde, 7 p.m.
SOCCER GIRLS 4A SEMIFINALS AT GLENDALE
4A: No. 2 Salpointe vs. No. 3 Lee Williams, 4:30 p.m.
4A: No. 1 Walden Grove vs. No. 4 Flagstaff, 6:30 p.m.
SOCCER GIRLS 5A SEMIFINAL AT CORONADO
5A: No. 6 Catalina Foothills vs. No. 2 Chaparral, 4:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
SOCCER BOYS 4A CHAMPIONSHIP AT GLENDALE
No. 1 Salpointe vs. No. 2 Saguaro, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28
BASKETBALL GIRLS 4A/5A SEMIFINALS
4A: No. 4 Pueblo at No. 1 Mesquite, 7 p.m.
5A: No. 5 Catalina Foothills at No. 1 Canyon View, 7 p.m.
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