No. 1 Coronado boys soccer edges Palo Verde to stay unbeaten — PHOTOS
Defending Class 5A boys soccer state champion Coronado narrowly escaped with a 1-0 home victory over rival Palo Verde on Wednesday in the teams’ first meeting since last year’s title game.
A strike from Coronado junior striker Dylan Flores from the corner of the box early in the second half was just enough to lift the Cougars (13-0, 8-0 5A Southern League), No. 1 in the Review-Journal’s rankings, past the No. 3 Panthers (5-3-2, 5-2-1).
“I saw there was a lot of space open on the near post, and we weren’t having a lot of success on our other crosses back post, so I just slipped it in,” Flores said. “… It felt really good honestly just to make sure we keep the undefeated record and all wins intact.”
The Cougars ended the Panthers’ three-game win streak.
Last season, Palo Verde defeated Coronado 4-3 in the Class 5A Southern League title game, but the Cougars got their revenge in the 5A state title game a week later in Carson City, defeating the Panthers 2-0.
Despite Wednesday’s victory, Coronado coach Dustin Barton wasn’t content after multiple missed shot opportunities. The Cougars have outscored their opponents 79-5 this season with nine shutouts.
“We knew coming into the contest the Panthers weren’t going to be an easy victory,” Barton said “We had a lot of opportunities today but just couldn’t seem to put it away all game. It was just one of those days.”
A trench fight in the box ensued all game between Cougars junior striker Gavin Flickinger and Panthers junior goalkeeper Landon Blanchard, who made multiple saves in the match.
“I knew coming into the game that I was gonna have to do a lot today,” Blanchard said. “Having played in the past with nine of those Coronado boys on my club travel team, I kind of knew how they played on some of the free kicks and knew what foot they were.”
Flickinger, who leads the state in goals (25) and points (67), was held scoreless with multiple stuffed attempts.
“I think it was a slow start because they were a really competitive team we had to play,” Flickinger said. “It took awhile for us to get the ball going. We got more chances to begin the second half and were able to finally put one away, thankfully.”
Coronado also defeated No. 2 Las Vegas High 4-1 on Monday, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
“I believe we had possession of the ball like 80 percent of the time today,” Barton said. “You know, we just couldn’t get in the back of the net more, and that’s what matters.”
Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@reviewjournal.com. Follow@jaypowers__ on X.
