Rams boys ousted from state soccer playoffs

The old saying “all good things must come to an end” probably wasn’t much solace to the Maricopa High School boys soccer team on Saturday. After entering the playoffs with high hopes created by an unblemished regular season, the Rams’ dreams of a state title were derailed by a 3-1 loss to Wellton Antelope in the second round at Benedict Sports Complex in Tempe.

Despite Antelope giving Maricopa (16-1) its closest shave of the season more than two weeks ago in a game that was ultimately decided in a shootout, Maricopa coach Jack Berg was worried about his players’ intensity prior to Saturday’s contest.

“I think the boys had difficulty getting up for this game,” Berg said “I don’t know if it’s because we beat them on penalty kicks earlier this year, or if they were just slightly overconfident.”

Just a day earlier, Maricopa, the top seed in the 1A/2A/3A playoffs, cruised to a 10-1 first-round win over Queen Creek Canyon State Academy. But the Rams couldn’t produce that same effort against Antelope.

“I never got the feeling we were dominated,” Berg said. “. . . Talent-wise, we were there. We just didn’t communicate.”

Maricopa seemed to pick up the pace in the second half, keeping the ball on Antelope’s side of the field for the most part. Maricopa had several decent chances to score, including multiple free kicks close to Antelope’s goal, but with the exception of the lone goal by Francisco Flores, the Maricopa boys couldn’t convert the chances into points.

“After the half we did have better intensity. We had better effort and better opportunities, but we still couldn’t enough right,” Berg said.

Despite the abrupt and sooner-than-expected end of the season for Maricopa, Berg said his team should still hold their heads high after an impressive run.

“We had a great season,” he said “We told the boys this is not a tarnish on what we accomplished this year.”

Photo by David Argabright