Prescott outduels Sandra Day O'Connor

Prescott outduels Sandra Day O'Connor

The Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor and Prescott boys soccer teams dueled until the final kick Friday, but only Prescott will continue to kick some more next week, after beating its Western Sky Region counterpart 2-1 Friday.Prescott (5-4) will know Sunday morning for sure what seed it earned. "It's fantastic," Prescott coach Nick Dooda said about the road victory.
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Dooda and his boys had to experience some anxious moments at the end, though. The two teams were competing for one of the final Class 4A Division I boys soccer playoff berths Friday, which is a great accomplishment for two programs hungry for the playoffs. Down 2-0 with about eight minutes remaining in the match, Sandra Day O'Connor's Mason Massey scored on a header after a free kick, but Massey was ruled offside. But about 10 seconds later, Prescott's Willie Hammack received a red card. Prescott was already without its leading scorer Adam Yoder, who didn't play in the second half because of an injury. With three minutes remaining, Marco Magana converted a penalty kick for Sandra Day O'Connor after teammate Tyler Scott was taken down in the penalty area. Sandra Day O'Connor's best chance for the equalizer came in the final 16 seconds after a corner kick. Former Glendale Cactus star and current Sandra Day O'Connor coach Micah Kaplan ordered all of his players to get inside Prescott's box. The corner kick went directly toward the pack, but nobody could get a shot off. When the ball landed, a Sandra Day O'Connor player gained control of the ball, but his shot sailed above the crossbar. Sandra Day O'Connor had won only two matches the previous two seasons, but the team went 4-6 in Kaplan's first season. "Our motto was 'Give all. Leave nothing,' " Kaplan said. "And that's how we played all the way until the end."

Source: http://www.azcentral.com