By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Liberty girls coach Kyle Pooler was encouraged by what he saw in his team in its Open Division second-round match Feb. 13 at Xavier Prep.

That’s important, because the Lions’ 3-0 loss to Xavier helped pit them against a team they’ve already matched up evenly against once this year —the Shadow Ridge Stallions — in Tuesday’s 6 p.m., 6A opening-round match.

“I’m really proud of them,” Pooler said. “I told them we just need to maximize our effort. If we play with this kind of intensity, we’re going to do some things.”

“Do some things” might include the Lions, the No. 5 seed in 6A, holding their home field Tuesday against a No. 12-seeded Shadow Ridge they faced on Jan. 24. The 4-4 tie was the Stallions’ lone draw of the season and one of only two for the Lions (10-9-2).

Liberty’s loss on Xavier’s artificial turf happened amid steady rain most of the match — and, at times, with the four-time defending 6A champion Gators raining shots down on the Lions goalkeepers.

Xavier (11-1) denied Liberty’s passes to its forwards, for the most part, and kept the mostly on the Lions’ half of Petznick Field throughout the first half.

Liberty goalkeeper Hanna Smith, after giving up an 18-yard goal from the middle about 15 minutes into the match, made five quality saves before halftime for the Lions, who were the No. 14 seed in the 32-team Open Division bracket. Grace Hurley took over for the second half, and despite only making one save, took away some other Gators scoring opportunities.

Xavier, the No. 3 seed in the Open Division, scored off a free kick play early in the second half, with one of Liberty’s defenders on the bench with a just-issued yellow card.
The Gators sealed the Lions’ fate, going up 3-0 with about 13 minutes left in the match on a play in which Liberty seems to lose track of one Xavier forward who scored from medium range.

Liberty played most of the second half without one of its top scorers, Evelyn Carr, who was helped off the field with an apparent ankle injury. Her status for the Shadow Ridge match was unclear.

The Lions had several good looks early and midway through the second half. Kendall Deblanc launched one shot that forced the Xavier keeper to leave her feet for an athletic save.

Pooler said the Lions stuck to a game plan much better in the second half.

“In the second half, we did a lot more,” he said. “We created more opportunities, and had some good looks and I thought we were going to get one there.”

Xavier Prep coach Barb Chura praised Liberty’s ability to keep the shape of its offense and stick to its short-passing-focused attack, rather than getting frustrated and simply kicking the ball downfield.

“They try to build, and don’t get away from what they do,” Chura said. “They have some good players. They have skill. We just overpowered them tonight.”

Xavier moved on to the Open quarterfinals, hosting No. 22 seed that Crismon that won goal matches at Buena and No. 6 Prescott.

Chura said she doesn’t like the newer Arizona soccer playoff format, which involves some teams not only being seeded in an initial Open bracket, but also a reseeding process once the 6A field was determined.

“I’m not a fan,” Chura said. “I didn’t vote for it. I think we should just stick with our 6A, 5A, 4A. I don’t like this Open thing.”

Thursday, Feb. 13
XAVIER PREP 3, LIBERTY 0
Liberty 0 0—0
Xavier 1 2—3
Scoring: X, 15th minute; X, 52nd; X, 67th. Shots on goal: X 10, L 2. Saves: X 2; L 7 (Hanna Smith 6, Grace Hurley 1). Corner kicks: L 2, X 2. Yellow card: L, Rylee Biancamano (51st). Rec.: L 10-9-2; X 11-1.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.