Alex Anderson battles a Yavapai player for the ball. Pima handed YC its first playoff loss in 11 years. Photo by Ed Adams

The Pima Community College men’s soccer team has earned an epic win in the playoffs but lost the Regional championship and thus their season ended.

Top-seeded and No. 6 Arizona Western College beat the No. 14 and third-seeded Aztecs (17-6) 2-0 on Oct. 30 in Yuma in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 Tournament Final.

“We just didn’t take our chances,” head coach Dave Cosgrove said. “Western played better than us in the first half and got a good goal. In the second half, we played better and created a lot of good chances, we just needed to score a goal.”

The loss came three days after Pima upset second-seeded and then No. 10 Yavapai College on the road in the semifinals 4-1. Yavapai’s loss is their first in the playoffs this century. YC knocked Pima out of the playoffs in Prescott the last five years.

“That’s a historic win,” Cosgrove said. “I keep telling everybody that Yavapai has lost two games west of the Mississippi in the playoffs since 1990 and both have been to Pima.

“That is the first time that Yavapai did not play in a Region final and the fact that it was up there and the score was 4-1 was unbelievable. I don’t think they have ever lost at home that bad, much less in the playoffs.”

Freshman forward Yaya Kane scored Pima’s first goal off of an assist by sophomore forward Minh Vu. Freshman forward Donny Toia scored the Aztecs’ second goal. Both PCC goals were late in the second half.

After Yavapai cut the Pima lead to one, Toia answered with a goal assisted by Vu. In the 82nd minute, Kane scored PCC’s fourth goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Miko Gastelum played the full 90 minutes in goal, making two saves.

Yavapai has won seven National championships and 19 Region championships. The Roughriders’ only other loss in the playoffs was to Pima in 1999.

Before the 1999 win, Pima’s last Region title was in 1988. That was the year before Yavapai started.

Despite the fact that Pima’s Region had five teams ranked in the top 15 this year, the Aztecs’ stellar season and their win for the ages, their season ended. Cosgrove said they have been lobbying for wildcards in the playoffs for years.

“Throughout the 2000s, mostly it’s been Pima. I think we have been in seven of the 10 Regional finals. II think at least three or four of those years our second place team was probably one of the top three in the country. It just happened to be that they lost to either the first or second best team in the country in the final,” Cosgrove said. “We all feel very strongly that’s what should happen.”

Before the tournament started, Cosgrove said that the teams with byes to the semifinals—Western and Yavapai—had a huge advantage. Pima had to play sixth-seeded Scottsdale Community College, which it beat 3-0, in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Yavapai got to rest and play the semifinals at home.

“There’s no doubt, not that that is an excuse, Western deserved to win that night. But that’s the big advantage of being a one or a two seed,” Cosgrove said. “You don’t have to play those extra games then. Extra road trip, extra games, extra everything and it makes it very, very difficult with that game.”

Cosgrove expects Pima to again do well next year. The Aztecs are waiting on decisions on whether some players might return, like forward Donny Toia, who could turn professional. Toia turned down an offer by Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer to play in their youth system, choosing instead to play for Pima this season.

“We anticipate, just as we do every year, that we will be very good and compete for the Region championship and be a top 15 team in the country,” Cosgrove said.

Kolby Jacobson surveys the field in Pima's 1-0 win over Yavapai at home. Photo by Ed Adams

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The Pima Community College men’s soccer team’s bid for Nationals ended at top-seeded Arizona Western College on Oct. 30.

The No. 12 Aztecs lost 2-0 to No. 9 Western in Yuma in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 Tournament Final.

Western, the top seed in the tourney, scored goals in the first and second halves. Sophomore goalkeeper Miko Gastelum made five saves for PCC.

Pima finishes the season 17-6.

The Matadors will now host the West District Playoffs for a spot in Nationals.

Donny Toia

On Wednesday night, the Pima Community College men’s soccer team scored a win for the ages.

The third-seeded Aztecs (17-5) upset the second-seeded and No. 10 ranked Yavapai College 4-1 in the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 Tournament at Yavapai.

No. 12 Pima will travel to top-seeded Arizona Western College (17-3-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the Region championship game. No. 9 Western beat fifth-seeded Phoenix College on penalty kicks in the semifinals.

Freshman forward Yaya Kane scored Pima’s first goal off of an assist by sophomore forward Minh Vu. Freshman forward Donny Toia scored the Aztecs’ second goal. Both PCC goals were late in the second half.

After Yavapai cut the Pima lead to one, Toia answered with a goal assisted by Vu. In the 82nd minute, Kane scored PCC’s fourth goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Miko Gastelum played the full 90 minutes in goal, making two saves.

Yavapai’s loss is their first in the playoffs this century. YC had knocked Pima out of the playoffs in Prescott the last five years.

Yavapai has won seven National championships and 19 Region championships. The Roughriders’ only other loss in the playoffs was to Pima in 1999.

Before the 1999 win, Pima’s last Region title was in 1988. That was the year before Yavapai started.

During the regular season, Arizona Western swept Pima. They won 3-2 in Tucson on Sept. 11, as the Aztecs collapsed late in the second half, and won 4-1 in Yuma on Oct. 9.

The winner of Regionals hosts the West District Playoffs on Nov. 5-6, welcoming the champions of Region 9 and 18 to Arizona to play for the right to go to Nationals.

Otero (Colo.) Junior College (15-1-1) won the Region 9 Tournament and North Idaho College is the only team in Region 18. Both are unranked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5vsfpuPW-0

The Pima Community College women’s soccer season came to an end Oct. 26 with a 4-1 loss to Chandler-Gilbert Community College on the playoffs’ first day.

Third-seeded Chandler-Gilbert beat sixth-seeded Pima in Chandler in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 tournament.

“The score doesn’t affect how well we played,” head coach Kendra Veliz said. “We got extremely unlucky at one point in the game and the breaks didn’t go our way. So I don’t think the score reflects how competitive the game actually was.”

Jade Carr

The Aztecs’ final record was 7-10-1, including their only playoff game.

“I would have liked to have a winning season, but making the playoffs was one of our goals,” Veliz said. “Things just didn’t go our way and now we need to look towards next year.”

Freshman defender Dionae Avendano scored the lone goal for Pima, which came in the second half.

The Aztecs defeated Phoenix College 3-2 on Oct. 23 in a key victory that clinched the final spot in the Region I playoffs.

Freshmen Celeste Carrera, Trinity Houk and Sarah Hansen were the goal scorers for Pima in the critically important win.

Pima lost a close one to Glendale Community College, 1-0, on Oct. 20 on the road.

On Oct. 18, the Aztecs were shut out, 1-0, by No. 2 Paradise Valley Community College. The game was rain-delayed from Oct. 2 with Pima leading 1-0.

It was a back-and-forth match with both goalkeepers making saves. The Pumas escaped Tucson with a late goal in the second half to seal the victory.

On Oct. 16, Pima was defeated, 2-1, by No. 14 Scottsdale Community College.

The Aztecs’ only goal came from sophomore Amber Bender, but it wasn’t enough to hold on for the victory. The Fighting Artichokes scored two goals after the Pima goal to decide the game.

Despite a first round playoff exit, for the second year in a row, Veliz is confident for the future. PCC had 15 freshmen.

Paula Arroyave

“We had a lot of freshman so I hope that they learned what it is to compete in this league and they can be ready for next year,” Veliz said about the possibilities for next season.

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A few hours after winning big when conference awards were announced on Oct. 25, the Pima Community College men’s soccer team certainly showed they deserve the accolades.

The third-seeded Aztecs (16-5) routed sixth-seeded Scottsdale Community College 3-0 on Oct. 25 in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 tournament.

Pima head coach Dave Cosgrove, who won Region 1 Coach of the Year, said the Aztecs settled down in the second half after struggling in the first. They also had to deal with substantial wind.

“For a while there it looked like we never were going to score, but once we got the first one, it came a little bit easier,” Cosgrove said. “I think it was, especially with the second half, a fair result.”

Freshman forward Donny Toia broke the deadlock in the 60th minute off an assist by Region 1 Player of the year and sophomore forward Minh Vu. Freshman defender Kolby Jacobson scored the second goal off a throw-in by sophomore defender Matt Kappas a few minutes later.

Freshman forward Yaya Kane scored the third goal on a SportsCenter type play where he dribbled right through the SCC defense. Freshman goalkeeper Miko Gastelum scored the shutout with five saves.

Kane said the goal that was scored by Toia served to “help us to open the game.”

The Aztecs now face a rough road to the championship though. They’ll face community college soccer super power No. 12 Yavapai College (15-4-1) on the road in the semifinals.

The game was Oct. 27, but the results were unavailable at press time. For playoff updates, go to AztecPressOnline.com and Twitter.com/AztecSports.

Second-seeded Yavapai has won seven national championships and boasts an almost perfect record at home in the postseason.

“It’s a great environment, they got a great home field advantage and a very good team,” Cosgrove said. “In 20 years they have lost one time in the playoffs up there, so it’s a monumental task, but I think if we play well and our kids take their chances and finish well, we can play with anybody in our conference and in the country.”

During the regular season, the Aztecs and Roughriders split, with Pima winning 1-0 in Tucson on Sept. 6 and Yavapai winning 4-2 in Prescott on Oct. 18. Pima’s last five seasons have ended with losses at Yavapai in the playoffs.

“I feel very confident, because we beat them at home and we lost to them over there, but I think we dominated over there,” Vu said. “I feel confident about playing them again.”

Vu was also named first team All-ACCAC and All-Region 1 first team, joined by Kane on both of the squads. Toia and freshman defender Eric Glad were named second team All-ACCAC.

Minh Vu

Vu also won the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference scoring title with 39 points, 15 goals and nine assists. Vu, a second team All-American last year, said winning player of the year was “exciting.”

“I think it’s the body of work, not only this year but over the last two years he’s been just dynamic like for us,” Cosgrove said. “He scores big goals, he steps up in the biggest environments. So I think it is well deserved and to be honest I wasn’t surprised.”

The Aztecs closed out the regular season Oct. 23 with a 2-0 win at Phoenix College. Toia and freshman forward Donny Blake Brennen scored Pima’s goals. Freshman forward Alex Anderson got the assist on both goals.

Vu credits winning the Phoenix game with helping PCC beat Scottsdale two days later.

“As a team we felt very confident coming in,” Vu said. “We got the big win against Phoenix and we wanted to play at home, and we got the big win. We are taking it one game at a time.”

The game against Phoenix was Toia’s third in a row with a goal. Gastelum made two saves in earning the shutout.

Pima snapped its brief two-game losing streak on Oct. 20 in dominant fashion with a 6-2 win at Glendale Community College. Toia led the way for the Aztecs with two goals and an assist.

The Aztecs’ loss to Yavapai came on Oct. 18 by a margin of 4-2. Toia scored a goal, giving him a point in six straight games. Kane had the assist. Freshman defender Bryce Parker scored Pima’s other goal.

On Oct. 16, the last time Pima played Scottsdale, they lost 2-1 at West Campus. Kane scored the Aztec goal off an assist by Anderson. Kane’s goal was his eighth in the last five games.

“I think we took our chances in the second half,” Cosgrove said Oct. 25. “The last time we played them, we had the same amount of quality chances and we didn’t make them.

“This is the time of year if you do that then you are going to lose, but today we got that first one. Then once we got the second one, it got very comfortable for us and obviously the third one just put the icing on the cake.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5vsfpuPW-0

The Pima Community College women’s soccer season came to an end Oct. 26 with a 4-1 loss to Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

Third-seeded Chandler-Gilbert beat sixth-seeded Pima in Chandler in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 tournament.

Jade Carr

“The score doesn’t affect how well we played,” head coach Kendra Veliz said. “We got extremely unlucky at one point in the game and the breaks didn’t go our way. So I don’t think the score reflects how competitive the game actually was.”

The Aztecs’ final record was 7-10-1, including their only playoff game.

“I would have liked to have a winning season, but making the playoffs was one of our goals,” Veliz said. “Things just didn’t go our way and now we need to look towards next year.”

Freshman defender Dionae Avendano scored the lone goal for Pima, which came in the second half.

Despite the first round playoff exit, Veliz is confident for next season. PCC had 15 freshmen on its roster

“We had a lot of freshman so I hope that they learned what is to compete in this league and they can be ready for next year,” Veliz said about the possibilities for next season.

The Pima Community College men’s soccer team wasting no time in showing they deserved the long list of accolades they received on Monday.

The third-seeded Aztecs (16-5) routed sixth-seeded Scottsdale Community College 3-0 on Sept. 25 in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 tournament.

Pima head coach Dave Cosgrove, who won Region 1 Coach of the Year, said the Aztecs settled down in the second half after struggling in the first. They also had to deal with substantial wind.

“For a while there it looked like we never were going to score, but once we got the first one, it came a little bit easier,” Cosgrove said. “I think it was, especially with the second half, a fair result.”

Freshman forward Donny Toia broke the deadlock in the 60th minute off an assist by Region 1 Player of the year and sophomore forward Minh Vu. Freshman defender Kolby Jacobson scored the second goal off a throw-in by sophomore defender Matt Kappas.

Freshman forward Yaya Kane scored the third goal on a SportsCenter type play where he dribbled right through the SCC defense. Freshman goalkeeper Miko Gastelum scored the shutout with five saves.

Kane said the goal by Toia served to “help us to open the game.”

The Aztecs now face a rough road to the championship though. They’ll face community college soccer super power No. 12 Yavapai College (15-4-1) on the road in the semifinals.

Second-seeded Yavapai has won seven national championships and boasts an almost perfect record at home in the postseason.

“It’s a great environment, they got a great home field advantage and a very good team,” Cosgrove said. “In 20 years they have lost one time in the playoffs up there, so it’s a monumental task, but I think if we play well and our kids take their chances and finish well, we can play with anybody in our conference and in the country.”

During the regular season, the Aztecs and Roughriders split, with Pima winning 1-0 in Tucson on Sept. 6 and Yavapai winning 4-2 in Prescott on Oct. 18. Pima’s last five seasons have ended with losses at Yavapai in the playoffs.

“I feel very confident, because we beat them at home and we lost to them over there, but I think we dominated over there,” Vu said. “I feel confident about playing them again.”

Vu was named first team All-ACCAC and All-Region 1 first team, joined by Kane on both all-star squads. Toia and freshman defender Eric Glad were named to the second team of the All-ACCAC.

Donny Toia

Vu also won the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference scoring title with 39 points, 15 goals and nine assists. Vu, an All-American last year, said winning player of the year was “exciting.”

“I think it’s the body of work, not only this year but over the last two years he’s been just dynamic like for us,” Cosgrove said. “He scores big goals, he steps up in the biggest environments. So I think it is well deserved and to be honest I wasn’t surprised.”

The Aztecs closed out the regular season Oct. 23 with a 2-0 win at Phoenix College.

“As a team we felt very confident coming in,” Vu said. “We got the big win against Phoenix and we wanted to play at home, and we got the big win. We are taking it one game at a time.”

The win avenged an earlier 2-1 home loss to on Oct. 16 Scottsdale, they lost 2-1 at West Campus.

“I think we took our chances in the second half,” Cosgrove said Oct. 25. “The last time we played them, we had the same amount of quality chances and we didn’t make them.

“This is the time of year if you do that then you are going to lose, but today we got that first one. Then once we got the second one, it got very comfortable for us and obviously the third one just put the icing on the cake.”

Regionals:
Semifinals: Wednesday, Oct. 27
Championship: Saturday, Oct. 30 at higher seed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5vsfpuPW-0

The Pima Community College men’s soccer team fell short of a playoff bye but got the next best thing.

The third-seeded Aztecs (15-5) will open the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 tournament by hosting sixth-seeded Scottsdale Community College on Monday at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

Pima split with the Fighting Artichokes during the regular season. Pima beat SCC 1-0 in Scottsdale on Sept. 18 but the Fighting Artichokes won 2-1 in Tucson on Oct. 16.

Yaya Kane

Regionals
Quarterfinals: Monday, Oct. 25
Semifinals: Wednesday, Oct. 27 at higher seed
Championship: Saturday, Oct. 30 at higher seed

Despite a late-season swoon, the Pima Community College women’s soccer team extended its season with a win over a playoff bound team.

The sixth-seeded Aztecs (7-10-1) clinched a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 1 tournament by beating Phoenix College 3-2 on Oct. 24. Pima will travel to third-seeded Chandler-Gilbert Community College on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

Pima got swept by the Coyotes during the regular season. CGCC beat the Aztecs 2-1 both times.

Celeste Carrera

Regionals
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Oct. 26
Semifinals: Thursday, Oct. 28 at higher seed
Championship: Saturday, Oct. 30 at higher seed

The Pima Community College track and field teams both finished in the top 17 at the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship and had10 top-eight finishes, breaking records in the process.

The Aztec women finished 13th with 17 points, while the men finished 17th with 11.25 points. The meet was held in Hutchinson, Kan.

Sophomore Sharissa Korn placed fourth in the javelin with a throw of 135’ 9”. Freshman Kat Howard finished fifth in the 10,000-meters, but more notably in a new school record time of 38:18.8.

The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of sophomore Stephan Bullard, freshman Derick Coker, sophomore Chris Phillips and freshman Mathew Robertson finished fifth in 3:15.5. On his own, Bullard finished sixth in the 800-meter in 1:54.1.

Stephan Bullard

Sophomore Jessica Davis took fifth in the shot put, by putting up a score of 40’ 2”.

Freshman Christian Tover earned Pima’s first points of the meet, going 160 feet with a personal record in the hammer throw and finishing sixth. Freshman Chloe’ Nowell leaped her way to a seventh place finish in the triple jump, (36’ 7”).

Freshman Magda Mankel earned seventh place in the 1,500-meter, in a time of 5:04.6.

Sophomore Kyle Bush was 8th in the 1,500-meter in 4:11.6. Freshman Anthony Johnson, was also an eighth place finisher, in the high jump, with a best of 6’8.75”.

Pima sent 24 athletes in 21 events.