The Arizona state high school soccer championship matchups are all set, and three Southern Arizona teams will compete for titles this coming weekend.
Walden Grove, the top seed in the girls class 4A state tournament, will face No. 2 Salpointe Catholic in an all-Southern Arizona matchup for that title.
The championship game will take place Saturday at 5 p.m. at Tucson High School, according to an update to the tournament bracket posted Thursday to the website of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, the state’s governing body for high school sports. Originally, the 4A girls championship was slated for Friday night in Glendale, but the presence of two Southern Arizona teams predicated moving the game to Tucson.
Salpointe Catholic defeated Chandler Arizona College Prep, 4-0, on Feb. 21, 2023 in the Arizona Class 4A state boys soccer semifinals, held at Mountain View High School in Marana. The win propels the No. 1 Lancers to the state championship match against No. 2 Scottsdale Saguaro. Video by James Kelley/Special to the Arizona Daily Star
The third local program, the top-seeded Salpointe boys team, will play for the 4A boys championship in Glendale, as the Lancers face No. 2 Scottsdale Saguaro (18-2-1) at 6 p.m. Friday at Glendale High School. Salpointe (22-2) earned its 14th overall state championship game appearance with a 4-0 win Tuesday over No. 4 Chandler Arizona College Prep.
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Wednesday night, Walden Grove’s girls team punched their ticket to Saturday’s 4A girls final with a 2-0 win over No. 4 Flagstaff.
The Red Wolves (19-1) scored less than three minutes into the game and again in the 28th minute to hold off the Eagles in the semifinal matchup at Glendale High School. Walden Grove has yet to give up a goal in state tournament play, defeating No. 16 Mesquite in the opening round, No. 8 Prescott in the quarterfinals and Flagstaff in Wednesday’s semis by a combined score of 13-0.
On the other side of the 4A girls bracket, No. 2 Salpointe (14-2-1) has been nearly as dominant. The Lancers defeated No. 3 Kingman Lee Williams (15-2-1), 2-0, Wednesday, also in Glendale, and have outscored their three playoff opponents — ALA-Gilbert North, Scottsdale Saguaro and Lee Williams — 6-0 en route to the championship round.
Tucson High’s boys and Catalina Foothills’ girls also came into this week with state championship aspirations, but both teams’ efforts were stopped short in their respective semifinals. No. 1 Tucson (16-3-2) fell 5-3 to Gilbert Perry on Tuesday night in the 6A boys semis, while sixth-seeded Catalina Foothills (14-4-1) lost to No. 2 Chaparral on Wednesday, 3-1.
