Young Gaels move on

Nick Christensen

Monday, Feb. 7, 2005 | 8:36 a.m.

Having one of the youngest rosters in town, the Bishop Gorman girls' soccer team has been playing the underdog all year.

But the Gaels rose to the occasion all season, earning a second seed in this week's Sunset Regional tournament.

And they rose to the occasion once at the tournament, moving on to Tuesday's semifinal with a 3-1 win against Cheyenne.

"I have a young team," Gorman coach Victor Arbalaez said. "They're doing the best they can. That's all you can ask."

Saturday's game against Cheyenne was another learning experience for the Gaels, for many of them their first time in the playoffs. Arbalaez said they learned all about the importance of momentum in the game.

"We missed a lot of key chances -- really key chances that you had to put those away," Arbalaez said. "If you give the other team chances, I know this in any sport, you keep a team in the game, they build up confidence. We can't do that against a good team. We miss easy chances, we're going to be punished."

Which brings along a limping Palo Verde team, undefeated in the regular season and coming off a hard-fought 5-0 victory against Sierra Vista. The price of victory against the Mountain Lions was high -- forward Kayla Lambert, a key part of the Panthers offense, suffered an ankle injury. Coach Marc Hechter said he'd be checking on her status late Monday, but didn't sound optimistic.

Two of the Panthers' star substitutes are likely done also, one after a concussion and another from a hand injury when she was stepped on.

"This is not good news," Hechter said. "Like all things in life, you deal with adversities handed to you."

The positive is that a win against Bishop Gorman would guarantee Palo Verde a berth in the state semifinals, which take place on Feb. 17. That would give the Panthers important time to heal, even with regional championships this Thursday.

"I'm going to remind them that it was Gorman that ended their run two years ago in double-overtime," Hechter said. "I'm going to remind them that the first game we played them was 15 games ago and that doesn't mean anything. Don't use that for a model, because that is not the model, I assure you."

In the eight games Saturday at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex, only one of the lower-seeded teams advanced. Southeast third-seed Coronado upset Northeast second-seed Rancho 6-1. It will play Green Valley on Tuesday night.

In other games Tuesday, Las Vegas will play Silverado and Centennial takes on defending state champion Bonanza. Northern teams competed for a separated 4A championship in November, with Galena claiming the other girls' title.