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published: Friday, January 18, 2013
Eagles defend MAST title over Brophy Prep
Eagles defend MAST title over Brophy Prep
Mark Fisher
Special to the Daily Commercial
Montverde Academy turned back the upset hopes of Phoenix Brophy College Preparatory to capture its second consecutive Montverde Academy Soccer Tournament Championship 3-1 Sat-urday night.
The championship game was a contest of two titans of the high school/college prep scene. The Eagles came in sporting a 23-0-1 record while the Brophy Broncos boasted a 15-1 record. The Eagles came into the contest ranked No. 1 in the state and the nation while the Broncos were ranked 24th nationally and 3rd in Arizona.
The early action reflected the high talent level with the first 15 minutes marked by precise ball control and tight defense. The result was limited shots on goal by either team as the players probed for weakness without success. Each team would launch an attack only to be repulsed until the Broncos were able to exploit a small opening when Riggs Lennon took a crossing pass from Adam Mosharaffa and struck it past Montverde keeper Federico Barrios to give the Broncos the lead midway through the half.
But the Eagles rebounded late in the period when Quintonio Lema controlled the ball and launched a strike from near the corner of the box to tie the game at the half.
After the break, it was clear that the frenetic, high energy pace of play had taken its toll as both teams were more subdued when play resumed. But slowly, the number of attacks mounted by Montverde grew and with it control of the tempo. With their scoring opportunities taken away, the Broncos were unable to unleash the precision offensive counterpunches that characterized their earlier play.
The deadlock was finally broken when Eagles fielder Diego Campos was able to head in a free kick. The free kick was taken by Thales Novis who presented Campos with a perfect shot near the left front of the goal. Campos was able to beat the keeper to give the Eagles their first lead with 24:20 remaining.
Gerald Arguedas, who had been an object of concern to the Broncos bench all night, capped the scoring late in the contest when he was able to shake free of defenders and unleash a cannon shot down the middle from 25 yards out to secure the final goal.
