A 2-0 win Tuesday, Jan. 26, over Paradise Honors High School, was apparently so nice, Sedona Red Rock High School may have to do it twice.

If the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Division IV power rankings hold through Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Scorpions girls soccer team, which finished its season ranked third, will bring the No. 14 Panthers home for the first round of the Division IV state tournament at 7 p.m.

The Scorpions could also face 4-3-3 Coronado High School, the last team the Scorpions couldn’t beat after a 3-3 road tie Jan. 15.

But their Jan. 26 win also handed the 8-4 Panthers their first sectional loss and gave the Section III title to the Scorpions, who finished a perfect 6-0 in sectional games.

The postseason picture is less clear for the SRRHS boys soccer team after losing its fourth straight Jan. 26 to the No. 4 Panthers on Senior Night, 8-2.

Head coach Cindy Hauserman’s team is still very much alive in State but will play its first-round game on the road. If Division IV power rankings hold through Wednesday, Feb. 3, SRRHS will travel to Buckeye Union High School to take on the fifth-seeded Hawks at 7 p.m.

Girls Soccer

“We worked hard to get the win,” said head girls coach Juan Carlos Aguilar, who is also looking forward to hosting the first round of the playoffs no matter which team the Scorpions face. “We won’t know for sure until Friday, [Jan. 29].

“We have a tough game, but if we continue to have games like this, we can overcome that.”

After a 1-2-1 start, the Scorpions have won seven straight games and are undefeated in 2016.

Senior Mason Feldtkeller scored her 30th goal of the season, combining with sophomore Marissa Pedroza to give the Scorpions all the offense they would need Jan. 26.

The day before, Feldtkeller had scored five goals and fellow senior Naomi Garcia added the first two of her career in the second half Monday, Jan. 25, in a 9-0 home shutout of Kingman High School.

“I don’t know if we’ll win — it’s hard, with our numbers — but I think we’ll do really well,” said Feldtkeller, who followed her opening goal 47 seconds in with three more between the 27- and 18-minute marks of the first half. “I’m in my prime right now.”

Senior Makenzie Meacham made it truly a night for the seniors, as her goal with 12:30 remaining in the first half made it a 5-0 lead for the Scorpions at halftime.

“I didn’t expect it,” Meacham said. “It was beautiful, anyway.”

With a comfortable lead on Senior Night, Aguilar allowed senior Naomi Garcia to play up five minutes into the second half.

Sixteen minutes later, she took full advantage.

“After all of our hard work, it’s definitely paying off this year,” said Garcia, who slipped two kicks into the right corner of the net from 10 yards out with 18 1/2 and 17 minutes to play. “I haven’t played as anything other than a defender for three years now, so it felt nice to finally score a goal. I felt proud of myself.”

Boys Soccer

Jan. 21, the Scorpions were on top of not just their section but all of Division IV, coming off their 11th straight win, 11-1 at Anthem Preparatory Academy.

In the next six days, SRRHS would drop 11 seeds and into a tie for fourth place in Section III.

“We lost the game, but we’re still in State,” senior midfielder Jerson Mendoza said. “Hopefully, we’ve got our team back. For State, we’re going to come back even harder.”

Minus senior starting goalkeeper Corbin Pulido — day-to-day, Hauserman said, after sustaining a concussion during a
Jan. 16 overtime win at home — the Scorpions left all their fight on their home field in their third game in three days Saturday, Jan. 23.

“We got dealt a pretty rough week,” Hauserman said. “We had to go in there, ready to give whatever energy, heart, muscle fibers [and] intellect we have left.”

But the additional absence of senior midfielder Jesus Estudillo, who missed two of those games with an injured ankle, was too much against top-ranked Dysart High School, which would shut out SRRHS for the first time in more than a year, 2-0.

“We tested them,” Hauserman said. “We couldn’t connect in the midfield like we were looking to do.”

The Demons’ pressure would ultimately wear down senior Daniel Ruiz, moved back into goal, where he started the season, from the center of the back line on defense.

Although freshman Elias Turnbull was a consistent replacement at both positions, he re-aggravated an ankle injury of his own with 20:21 to play, giving way to senior Ivan Aguilar.

“Everybody’s just exhausted and needs to get some rest,” Hauserman said. “The lesson I’m trying to get through to these guys is, it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you handle what happens to you.”