MESA - Score in the first 10 minutes, defend for much of the next 60, then score again on a counterattack in the final 10.
It sounds easy but if it was, every soccer team would employ that strategy. Saturday afternoon, Shadow Ridge followed that formula to a T in the biggest game in the Surprise school's history.
Senior Nathan Johansen, the team's leading scorer, knocked in a loose ball in the eighth minute and the Stallions grabbed a 1-0 lead on two-time defending 6A champion Gilbert Perry. Top seed Shadow Ridge (19-6-2) then received a one-man counter and goal from senior forward Aidan Miller in the 89th minute after defending for nearly 15 straight minutes to win the state title 2-0.
