Palo Verde races past Sierra Vista to win 4A region girls soccer title — PHOTOS

Momentum has a strange way of choosing sides without warning, a reality Sierra Vista’s girls soccer team was forced to face on Saturday.

The Mountain Lions (18-3) appeared to be in good shape after scoring a first-minute goal, but Palo Verde (17-3) took control a few minutes later and rolled to a dominant 4-1 victory to claim the 4A Southern Region girls soccer championship at Sierra Vista.

Caitlynn Nick scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the second half for the Panthers, who won their 16th consecutive game while ending Sierra Vista’s 17-game streak.

Both teams had already earned state tournament berths before kickoff on Saturday, but Palo Verde nabbed the top Southern seed with the win and will play Northern No. 2 seed Reno in the semifinals Friday. Sierra Vista will enter as the South’s No. 2 and play top-seeded Northern team Galena. All state games will be played at Spring Valley, with the title game scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.

“I thought we came out a little tight today,” said Palo Verde coach Pedram Mahinpey. “The girls were a little nervous, and it showed. But they settled down as the game went along because they didn’t panic, and they stayed composed.”

Composure was needed after Isabella Aranas scored a 15-yard goal on an assist from Arianna Ruiz to give the Mountain Lions a 1-0 lead in the game’s first minute. They maintained possession for most of the first five minutes.

But suddenly, it was all Palo Verde the rest of the way. Leyla Moreno tied it with a goal after picking up a deflection Sierra Vista goalkeeper Kennedy Zirkel had batted away moments earlier.

Nick put the Panthers ahead with a 15-yard shot 7 minutes into the second half, and extended the lead 7 minutes later with an 18-yarder from the right side to make it 3-1.

“I just got to the ball and took a shot,” Nick said of her second goal. “And it went in. I was happy (about the two goals),” Nick said. “That helped bring up the momentum.”

Mountain Lions coach Ryan Quinn said he knew at that point that Palo Verde had reclaimed the edge.

“We came out with a lot of energy, and I think Palo Verde came out a little slow,” Quinn said. “We weren’t able to match their energy in the second half.”

The coach said his squad intends to make corrections to be ready for next week’s state tourney,

“A regional title would have been nice,” he said. “But I have confidence the girls will bounce back.”

Olivia Gastwirth scored Palo Verde’s final goal from close range with 25 minutes remaining to put things out of reach at 4-1.

Mahinpey said good teams have the ability to overcome early setbacks.

“It’s a credit to our players,” he said of the rally. “I can give them instructions, but they’ve got to go out and execute. They showed a lot of character.”

Goalkeeper Jovie Wikler finished with five saves for the Panthers.

Contact Jeff Wollard at [email protected].