The Phantoms and Cowboys seemed destined for overtime Friday, Oct. 14, before sophomore Jesse Alvey intervened, scoring with 30 seconds to go to give the Camp Verde High School boys soccer team a 1-0 victory.
Senior teammate Trent Fogelson shot first, sending the ball off the cross bar in a scoreless match as those in attendance gasped in excitement.
Although Fogelson missed his opportunity, Alvey had no plans to miss the next time around, getting the rebound in front of the Grand Canyon High School goalkeeper, and using his head to net the score for the Cowboys.
Alvey needed to be helped off the field thanks to an elbow shot he received from the Grand Canyon goalkeeper, but he was OK and made sure his teammates knew it by laughing and joking with them after the win.
“We have a bunch of sophomores on our team and they have talent, so they just need experience,” longtime Camp Verde Head Coach Dave Miller said after the match. “We controlled the game and were able to finish at the end.”
Miller went on to say his team’s biggest issue at the moment is not being able to finish the score at the goal. A perfect example of that was Friday’s match with Grand Canyon as the Cowboys outshot the Phantoms 23 to 5.
In the goal for Camp Verde, sophomore Andy Woodward had four saves in the 1-0 victory.
With the win, Camp Verde improves to 6-7 overall this season and is 4-5 in Arizona Interscholastic Association power point play. The Cowboys are ranked No. 13 in Division IV.
Next up, the Cowboys have a rematch with rival Chino Valley High School on Thursday, Oct. 20. The Cougars defeated Camp Verde on Sept. 17, 5-2, but Cowboys are looking for revenge. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
