Lancers lead local charge to soccer state Final Four

Sophomore Francisco Manzo missed early but scored late to give the 3rd seed Lancers a 2-1 overtime win Saturday over Phoenix Washington in a Conference 4A quarterfinal match at Tucson High School.

The win put Salpointe Catholic in the state Final Four where they will face Scottsdale Saguaro Tuesday night (7 p.m.) at Williams Field High School in Gilbert.

Manzo’s goal came in overtime (’98). Alfonso Cabrera had given Salpointe Catholic a 1-0 first half lead on a penalty kick (’35).

The Lancers (19-3-1) have won all six of their previous state titles under current head coach Wolfgang Weber.

The last in 2013 which was the second of back-to-back state championships for Salpointe Catholic.

In other boys’ action, Catalina Foothills was eliminated from the Conference 4A state tournament with a 1-0 loss to Scottsdale Coronado.

15th seeded Sahuarita pulled off another Conference 3A stunner beating #7 Phoenix Veritas Prep 5-1.

The Mustangs knocked off #2 Safford in the first round and now will face Phoenix NFL Yet Academy on Thursday (7 p.m.) at Williams Field.

On the girls’ side, the Salpointe Catholic advanced to the state semifinals with a 1-0 result over Cave Creek Cactus Shadow.

The Lancers (16-3-2) will face top seed Flagstaff at Williams Field on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Also in Conference 4A, the 7th seed Catalina Foothills girls saw their season come to an end with a penalty kick loss to Phoenix Thunderbird.

4th seed Ironwood Ridge is one of the last four teams standing in Conference 5A. The Nighthawks beat Gilbert Campo Verde 1-0 and will now meet #1 seed Scottsdale Chaparral on Friday (5 p.m.) at Campo Verde High School. Read more.