PREP SOCCER:

Bishop Gorman revives season with shutout win

Gaels set to meet Centennial for the Sunset Regional championship

David Becker / Special to the Home News

Bishop Gorman’s Khachira Tugas, center, dribbles the ball between two Arbor View defenders, Ashlea Andrade, left, and Dakota Olson during Sunset Regional semifinals at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex on Thursday.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 8:03 p.m.

Sunset Regional semifinals take two

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High school sports section

Members of the Arbor View High girls soccer team could not help feeling like they were cheated.

Arbor View was supposed to play in the Sunset Regional championship game Monday. But after it was determined part of the tournament had to be replayed, the Aggies lost 2-0 Thursday to Bishop Gorman in the semifinals at Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex.

The Clark County School District on Monday took a regular season victory away from Shadow Ridge for using an ineligible player, which altered the seeding for the regional and brought four teams back to the tournament that were eliminated.

The ruling took Arbor View from the championship game to the quarterfinals, where it beat Durango 5-0 Wednesday. But they ran out of energy in the second half against Gorman, one of the teams whose season was revived.

The girls huddled together near their sideline following the loss, consoling each other with hugs and words of encouragement. Tears flowed down the faces of most, but the girls tried to take the situation in stride.

"Of course we feel like we were cheated," forward Erica Peeples said. "But that is out of our control."

While the Aggies weren't victorious on the field, coach Jay Howard praised his players for the way they handled the situation.

"I don't know if I have ever been more proud of a group of kids," Howard said. "We got a little tired at the end, but when you look at everything we've been put through, I couldn't be happier with them."

Arbor View's fans weren't as forgiving.

One yelled in the direction of Gorman's bench, "Where is our second chance?", and another shouted, "We still have a better record in the playoffs than you."

In anticipation of a potential hostile crowd, the district staffed the game with extra school police. With the exception of some choice words toward Gorman at the end of the game, the night was incident free.

"No matter what we do, it will be considered a tainted win," Gorman coach Lora Feely said. "We've always been considered the bad guys. People don't realize we were one of four teams brought back, not the only team."

Arbor View spent most of the first half on the attack and missed several scoring opportunities. The game was scoreless at halftime.

Gorman's Mariah Hobbs scored from 20 yards out in the 56th minute for the eventual game-winner, and Megan Wasiak added the second goal in the final minutes.

Gorman, which had its banquet scheduled for Sunday, will now play for the Sunset title at 4 p.m. Monday against Centennial. Centennial, one of the four teams previously eliminated, beat Shadow Ridge Thursday 3-1 in the other semifinal.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@hbcpub.com.

Discussion: 4 comments so far…

By 2zero

3/5/09 at 8:43 p.m.

Suggest removal

Gorman has no class...just attorneys.
By Brett426

3/5/09 at 10:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

What a joke! I don' understand how Shadow Ridge and Bishop Gorman can screw Arbor View out of a possible championship. It's simple- Gorman can't stand to lose. And to top it off you have the two teams that lost- Centenial and Bishop Gorman advancing to the next round. Right now at Arbor View you have 3000 VERY pissed off students and at Bishop Gorman you have a bunch of rich, spoiled CHEATERS.
ARBOR VIEW WANTS IT'S SECOND CHANCE
By 2zero

3/6/09 at 1:08 a.m.

Suggest removal

CCSD once again manages to turn the best days of a teenager's high school experience into a an exercise in bungled policy management.

Fire Mathis and Sloan! Then get to the business of breaking up the 5th largest failure, "school district", in america.
By Brett426

3/6/09 at 3:14 p.m.

Suggest removal

If anybody wants to call and ask for a reason why Gorman gets a second chance and Arbor View doesn't. Call Ray Mathis- president of the NIAA.

Phone: (702) 855-9767

E-Mail: rmathis@interact.ccsd.net

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