Girls high school soccer playoffs: Previewing the 4A-6A semifinal round
The Arizona girls high school soccer championhips enters the semifinal round on Wednesday for 4A through 6A conferences, with winners advancing to championship matches later in the week. Here's a preview of Wednesday's semifinal games, with neutral sites and times noted.
6A Conference
In the 6A division, both semifinal games will be played at Mountain Pointe High School.
The first match features No. 3 seed Perry and No. 7 Highland at 4:30 p.m.
Perry enters the match on a bit of a hot streak, as they have beaten their past two opponents with a combined score of 12-0. Meanwhile, Highland upset No. 2 Boulder Creek in the quarterfinals by going to penalties and eventually winning 3-2. Perry and Highland faced each other during the regular season, a match won by the Pumas, 1-0.
The later match will begin at 6:30 p.m., between No. 5 Hamilton and No. 1 Xavier Prep. Hamilton and Xavier met in the regular season finale Feb. 2, which the Gators won, 2-1. This is the first time this postseason that Hamilton will face a higher-ranked opponent. In the previous rounds they defeated No. 12 Red Mountain and No. 13 Liberty, respectively. While Hamilton was dominant in their first-round win against Red Mountain, had a much closer contest against No. 13 Liberty with a 2-1 score. Meanwhile, Xavier Prep is undefeaed in regular season and playoff matches. The Gators comfortably beat No. 16, Corona Del Sol 7-1 in the opening round, but played a much closer game in the quarterfinals as they just beat No. 8 Desert Vista 3-2.
The winner of each semifinal game will meet for the 6A title on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Dobson High School in Mesa.
5A Conference
Both 5A semifinal games will be played at Coronado High School in Scottsdale.
The first match will be at 4:30 p.m. between No. 2 Chaparral and No. 6 Catalina Foothills. The Firebirds have yet to concede a goal in this playoff tournament, defeating No. 15 Youngker 5-0 and No. 7 Campo Verde 2-0. Tucson Catalina Foothills has had more competitive matches. They beat No. 11 Centennial 4-2 in round 1 and then upset No. 3 Millennium 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
The second match of the night for division 5A will begin at 6:30 p.m. between No. 1 Notre Dame Prep and No. 4 Casteel. Notre Dame Prep comes into the semifinal round after playing two very close games. They won the round 1 and quarter-finals with a scoreline of 1-0 for each game. In these games, they faced No. 16 Higley and No. 9 Sunrise Mountain. Casteel, meanwhile, has found the back of the net more times, as they beat No. 13 Desert Mountain 6-1 in round 1. However, they only beat No. 12 Cienega 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
The winner of each semifinal game will meet on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Dobson High School.
4A Conference
Both semifinal games will be played at Glendale High School. Unlike 6A and 5A, all top four seeded teams have made it to the semifinal rounds in the 4A division.
No. 2 Salpointe Catholic will take on No. 3 Lee Williams at 4:30 p.m. Salpointe Catholic comes into the match fresh off of a comfortable quarterfinals victory over No. 10 Saguaro 3-0. However, they had a closer game in Round 1 edging No. 15 ALA Gilbert North 1-0. Lee Williams, out of Kingman, also had close games, as they just beat No. 14 Paradise Honors 1-0 in round 1, and No. 11 AZ College Prep 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
The second match features No. 1 Sahuarita Walden Grove against No. 4 Flagstaff at 6:30 p.m. Walden Grove's offense has been stellar in these playoffs thus far, scoring a combined 11 goals in the first two rounds while conceding none. IWalden Grove defeated No. 16 Mesquite, and No. 8 Prescott, respectively. Flagstaff has also dominated their opponents in the first two rounds, as they also have yet to concede a goal, and have scored a combined seven goals in their first two rounds over No. 13 Eastmark and No. 12 Arcadia in the quarterfinals. Something has to give between these teams on Wednesday.
The winner of each semifinal game will meet for the championship on Friday at 4:45 p.m. at Glendale High School.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Girls high school soccer playoffs: Previewing the 4A-6A semifinal round
