It did not take long for the Canyon del Oro boys soccer team, led by Chad Cristia's hat trick, to dismantle Surprise Willow Canyon 5-0 in the first round of the Class 4A-I state tournament at CDO.
In fact, it only took 1 minute 52 seconds.
Cristia took a pass from Ricardo Camacho on left side, juked past the defender and then punched the ball into the left corner of the net. Cristia, a senior forward, said that after that score, the Dorados' game plan was laid out.
"Right after that first goal, we figured out that their outsides were pushing in a little bit, so it would isolate me," he said. "From there, I would just take care of business."
In the ninth minute, Cristia posted his second goal by faking Willow Canyon goalkeeper Ivan Sandoval and taking an open net shot.
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Five minutes later, he posted his third goal by sneaking the ball between a defender's legs and into the net. It gave second-seeded CDO (20-2) a 3-0 lead at halftime.
While Cristia led the Dorados offense, their defense dominated the Wildcats, squashing any attack that was mustered and holding them to only one shot on goal in the first half.
But Willow Canyon (10-5) stole the momentum after the break, taking four quick shots on goal.
"We've always been a second- half team throughout this year, and it showed," said Willow Canyon coach Chris Scotti. "We're unfortunate not to sneak one or two in and then see what would happen."
After controlling the ball for the opening minutes of the half, it seemed that they might make a rally when Willow Canyon's Jose Romero was awarded a penalty kick in the 54th minute.
But Dorados keeper Nolan Rizzo made a diving block on Romero's shot and then sprung to his feet to block a high rebound shot by the Wildcats' Matt Rykhus.
"Who knows what could have happened if they put that in," said CDO coach Pedram Mahinpey. "Making that save took everything ... away from them."
CDO added to its lead with scores by Jacob Roszko and Daniel Polanco later in the half, while its defense maintained the shutout.
Cristia and Rizzo sat out most of the half.
Mahinpey said he does not think the decisive win will affect how the Dorados will perform in the next round.
"Regardless of making a statement, we already have a bull's eye on our chest. Every team is going to be out for us," he said. "We've just got to focus on ourselves. That's the most important thing."
Shutout puts No. 1 Nogales in quarters
Nogales keepers Edgar Reyna and Victor Lopez combined to beat Phoenix Moon Valley 2-0 in a first-round win in Nogales.
The top-seeded Apaches (19-3-1) were quiet offensively, despite a number of opportunities. But goals by Edgar Sotomayor and Josue Guerrero were enough to advance them to the quarters.
"The score shows it to be a close game, but we were pretty dominant, actually," Nogales coach Hugo Luna said.
● Rincon/University 2, Prescott 1: At Tucson High School, Max Yolic scored the decisive goal on a penalty kick in the 56th minute to lift the No. 4 Rangers into the quarterfinals.
