CHANDLER - The new boys soccer Open Division was designed to create unique playoff matchups and give top 4A and 5A programs a chance to test themselves against the best of 6A.
In that respect, one of Wednesday night's Open openers worked ideally. The 5A Arizona College Preparatory Knights started their playoff journey by knocking off the 6A Liberty Lions, 2-0 .
Both teams were well-balanced from the back line to the front. However, this game was decided by who wanted the victory more. The game was physical the entire time, and both defenses were not letting up.
The No.-10 seed Knights scored early thanks to promising sophomore Jared Johnson in the first half giving them morale-boosting 1-0 lead. Johnson was able to slot the ball in the bottom right corner past No. 23 Liberty’s’ goalkeeper.
“Liberty’s defense was tough at first getting the ball past them,” Johnson said. “They have quick and strong defenders, so I had to rely on my speed. My teammate Edward Oh saw me making a run on the left side and created a great pass towards me. Once I got the ball to my feet, I had great opening on the right side against the keeper and took my chance shooting the ball past him.”
Liberty's offense had a hard time in the first half creating chances and only had four shots on goal before the half. ACP junior goalkeeper Matthew Kozel held up for a shutout in goal.
Whenever called upon, Kozel held down his fort and made multiple saves. The Knights came out the second half on a mission to get another goal.
The home team's defense barely gave the Lions any time to breathe and gave them a hard time creating shots while being physical. The midfield controlled the pace of the game and won the ball back many times. The front line put a lot of pressure on Liberty’s defense.
Liberty goalkeeper Cooper Petersen kept the squad from Peoria in the game, saving the Lions in many situations. On one shot, Petersen had to stretch his hand all the way to the top cross bar in mid-air and saved a rocket from Knights junior Ryan Yahya.
Arizona College Prep secured the victory with a header scored by junior defender Justin Blackwell, making the final score 2-0.
Knights head coach Jeff Perry detailed the victory and shared his expectations for the rest of the playoffs.
“We have been battling injuries and illness; we got a few guys back last night and the difference was key to us getting going last night,” said Perry. “Our goalkeeper was solid, backline kept things in check, our central midfielders had a great engine and our forwards created quality looks that we were able to get on the end of a couple of times. I’m hoping to stay healthy and give us a chance to stay in games. We are pretty young, and our group is dangerous if we are healthy, no expectations other than to give a great effort each night and see what happens.”
Arizona College Prep plays a local school-district rival it has not faced in a regular-season or playoff game before, No. 7 Hamilton, in the second round of the Open. Kickoff is 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at 3700 S. Arizona Ave, Chandler.
Liberty drops into the 6A bracket and is most likely to host a first-round game at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19.
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