The Mingus Union High School boys soccer team had home field, a brand-new Section I title and a five-game win streak, one in which the Marauders had outscored opponents 29-2, to its advantage in the first round of the Division III state tournament Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Estrella Foothills High School wasn’t told of nor impressed by such statistical superiority. The No. 11 seed took No. 6 MUHS to the limit before failing to score on its final two shootout attempts, falling 6-5 there and 2-1 in the final score.
“That was the best defensive team we’ve played this year,” Marauders head coach Calvin Behlow said after a mob of 20 Marauders fans finally dispersed from their postgame celebration surrounding teammate Omar Carrillo. The senior forward, along with junior Luis Gudino, scored the last two goals in the shootout to put MUHS over the top despite playing a man down for the final three minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes after senior Omar Maria was yellow-carded twice and disqualified for running down Wolves defenders. “We got a look at some different formations, some crazy formations.”
The near-three-hour marathon came on a chilly night with a raucous crowd of both Marauders and Wolves fans half-filling the stands, likely expecting the same MUHS dominance that had put to rout Valley Lutheran and Joy Christian high schools by a combined score of 14-0 in the last two games.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Feb. 5, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
