BOYS STATE SOCCER: Clark-Tech rematch to decide I-A title

Clark and Tech went to double overtime when they met in last week's Division I-A boys soccer Southern Region final.

They'll have a chance to recreate an epic match Saturday.

The Chargers and Roadrunners both won semifinals Friday in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and will meet at noon Saturday for the state title.

Clark was a 2-0 winner over Elko, and Tech downed Sparks, 1-0.

"It should be a good rematch," said Clark coach Juan Chavez, whose team beat Tech, 3-2, in the Southern final.

Oscar Mata scored twice for the Chargers (16-6-1), who possessed the ball well in a win over the Indians (16-3-8).

Mata gave Clark the lead just three minutes in when he was in front to head in Ivan Lopez's cross from the corner.

Mata added a goal in the second half, blasting a left-footed shot from just outside the box.

"We played very well," said Chavez, whose team is looking for its first state title since 1988. "(Elko) wasn't as physical as we expected."

Jose Puentes made three saves to record the shutout for Clark.

Tech 1, Sparks 0 — Jaime Diaz knocked in a cross from Joel Velazquez with 32 minutes to play to move Tech into its third title match in four years with a win over the Railroaders (17-1-6).

Tyler Harvey made five saves to preserve the shutout for the Roadrunners.

"We played well despite the conditions," said Tech coach Josh Jones. "The alititude was a big deal. We had a couple of guys get sick, and it was cold. I think it was 30 degrees at the end of the match."

Tech won the Division I-A state title in 2012 and 2013.

"It's going to be a quick turnaround game for us," Jones said. "I expect it's going to be close. Our guys wanted another shot at Clark."

DIVISION I

Green Valley and Cimarron-Memorial's dreams of a state title came to an end Friday.

The Gators had their 14-match winning streak halted in a 2-1 loss to Wooster in the first semifinal.

Carson was a 2-0 winner over the Spartans in the second semifinal.

In the opener, Kendric Duve's goal with just more than three minutes left in the first half broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Colts (19-1) by Green Valley (25-3-2).

Both teams traded own goals earlier in the first half with Wooster drawing first blood eight minutes in, and Green Valley getting the equalizer.

"Unfortunately sometimes it doesn't go your way," Green Valley coach Jacob Rivera said. "We made two egregious mistakes that cost us two goals in the first half. Unfortunately we couldn't respond."

Green Valley had numerous chances in the closing minutes of the match. The Gators saw two balls go the wrong way off the crossbar and had Alessandro Sanchez's last second shot turned away by the Wooster keeper.

Carson 2, Cimarron-Memorial 0 — In the second semifinal, Abel Sanchez scored early in the second half, and Rogelio Herrera added an insurance goal with five minutes to play as the Senators (16-3-1) downed the Spartans (18-4-5).

"Such a great season," Cimarron coach Mark Bailey said. "So proud of my guys. As a team, defense and goalkeeping are what carried us all season. That's what we did today. They just snuck a couple past us."