Signals AZ

Eagles’ Double-Overtime Goal In Final Seconds Break Hearts of Bradshaw High School Boys Soccer

Bears' Region Championship Dreams In Trouble, State Playoff Hopes Still Alive

On a chilly Wednesday night, January 16th, the #24 Bradshaw Mountain High School boys soccer team and the #2 Flagstaff Eagles went head-to-head with a 0-0 tie for 89 minutes and 56 seconds in a double-overtime matchup. However, with four seconds remaining before each team was handed a tie for their efforts, Eagles’ senior Marco Avitia broke the deadlock and the Bears’ hearts with a goal. Unable to miraculously score an impressive goal of their own in the final four seconds of double-overtime, the Bears lost 1-0 to the Eagles at Bradshaw Mountain High School in Prescott Valley.

Photo by Torrence Dunham / Signals

“We held them until the last minute, we fought hard, left our hearts out on the field and we just got unlucky,” Bears senior midfielder Jovany De Los Santos said after the game. “I’m not going to lie, that was a very incredible shot.”

As fans were beginning to gather their belongings awaiting the final horn, Eagles’ junior Alex Grieder quickly threw the ball into play allowing Avitia to put the ball in the back of the net.

“Crazy, four seconds left, this is unbelievable,” Grieder said. “I thought this was going to end in a tie. I guess it just shows never give up.”

The victory gives Flagstaff a strong advantage for a region championship with home games against second-place Prescott High School and sixth-place Coconino High School coming up, along with road games against fifth-place Mingus Union High School and fourth-place Mohave High School.

“We treated it as if whoever wins this game goes into state playoffs (as a region champion),” Grieder said. “They (Bradshaw) put up a great competition. It’s the hardest game we played this year so far.”

Meanwhile, the Bears’ region championship dreams are in trouble. Bradshaw Mountain High School sits third in the 4A Grand Canyon with a 1-1 region record behind #6 Prescott (1-0 in the region) and Flagstaff (2-0 in the region) with the Eagles owning the tie-breaker over Bradshaw after the victory on Wednesday night.

“It’s our last year and we wanted to give it all and leave a memory on the field,” De Los Santos said. “We just have to keep our heads high, look forward to the rest of our games and see what happens from there.”

In the state playoff picture, the Bears are right on the edge as a play-in team with their #24 ranking that could rise after going into double overtime against high-ranked Flagstaff. The final four region games against Lee Williams High School, Mingus Union High School, Mohave High School and rival Prescott High School are crucial for the Bears.

After a bit of a rollercoaster season in non-region play, with a 3-2-1 record outside of the 4A Grand Canyon region, taking #2 Flagstaff to double overtime is a positive sign for De Los Santos and the Bears.

“We just wanted to send out a message, play hard and hopefully get our ranking back up. It was an amazing game all the way up until overtime,” De Los Santos said. “We held them, they struggled a lot. We kept fighting back. For us to keep competitive with the number two team in the state is good news for us.”

Bradshaw Mountain High School boys soccer(4-3-1, 1-1) hits the road for two straight games beginning against Lee Williams High School on Friday, January 18th at 6:00 pm.

Photo Gallery by Torrence Dunham / Signals

__

Follow Signals on Facebook to get the latest local events and updates: Facebook.com/SignalsAZ

Subscribe to the Signals Newsletter, events, entertainment, info & news right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE

If you like this story, consider subscribing to Signals Updates, Entertainment Events & News!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.