Carlos Vargas doesn’t know how exactly he scored the go-ahead goal in Saturday’s Division II state quarterfinal match.
All he knows is that the Tucson High boys soccer team is one win away from its first trip to the state finals.
Vargas, a senior midfielder, headed in the lone goal of the second half on a throw into the mixer in the 56th minute and the fourth-seeded and undefeated Badgers held off a late push by No. 5 Nogales to win 2-1 and move on to the state semifinals.
“Everyone was just bouncing off each other in the box,” Vargas said. “I’m not sure how I happened to hit it. I think it hit me. It came off my head, the keeper made a save and then I just put it back in.”
Tucson (22-0-3) will next face No. 9 Yuma Kofa at Phoenix Paradise Valley on Wednesday.
People are also reading…
Junior Ronaldo Fierro finished on a long free kick by sophomore Giovanni Ahumada to give Tucson a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the game, but Nogales (16-6-1) tied it up in the 20th minute when senior Robert Gorman knocked in a rebound on a penalty kick.
– Daniel Gaona
No. 9 Yuma Kofa 2, No. 1 Catalina Foothills 0: At Foothills, the Kings scored twice in overtime to snap the top-seed Falcons’ 13-game winning streak and hand them their first loss since Nov. 29. Junior defender Kenny Barajas knocked in the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute and sophomore forward Cristian Villegas stole a pass and added another goal in the final minute. The Falcons’ best shot on goal came from senior midfielder Matthew Romagnolo around the 50th minute when his shot hit the crossbar. Foothills finishes the season 16-4-1.
– Chuck Constantino
Contact reporter Chuck Constantino at cconstantino@tucson.com or 954-0859. On Twitter: @CConstan3 or @azprepstar
