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Gaels scramble for OT win

With a minute left to play Thursday, Bishop Gorman’s chances of claiming a second consecutive boys soccer state championship appeared extremely slim.

The Gaels, trailing 3-2 with the clock winding down, had seconds remaining to avoid being eliminated from regional play.

Somehow, they found a way.

Austin Cain scored the tying goal with 45 seconds left in regulation, and Cody Barnett fired through heavy traffic from close range in overtime to lift Gorman to a 4-3 victory over Western in its Sunset Region semifinal at Bettye Wilson Park.

The victory lifted the Gaels (13-1-3) into Saturday’s championship game, where they will play Centennial (17-2-1) at 12:30 p.m. The winner of that game advances to next week’s state tournament in Reno.

“This team doesn’t score many goals,” Gorman coach Nick Arbelaez said of his squad. “But they fight, and they know it’s never over. I can’t describe how proud I am.”

Gorman wasted little time in digging a hole, as Bryan Hernandez and Gelmin Molina scored in the first 15 minutes to put Western up, 2-0.

Cain scored the Gaels’ first goal midway through the first half, but Molina answered early in the second to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead.

Gorman, which went to penalty kicks to beat Palo Verde in the tourney’s first round, closed within 3-2 on Cain’s second goal midway through the half.

Western (7-8-2) tried to work the clock from there, but Cain saved Gorman by deflecting Steven Avena’s long shot into the goal with 45 seconds left to tie it.

That set up Barnett’s heroics with just over a minute remaining in overtime.

In the other semifinal, Centennial scored three consecutive goals in the second half to beat Legacy, 4-1.

Kevin Rogge scored twice, and Rory Smith and Isaac Ramirez each scored to lead the Bulldogs, who went to halftime with the score tied at 1.

Christian Rodriguez scored in the 39th minute for the Longhorns (11-5-3), but a second-half red card put Legacy a man down for the game’s final 29 minutes.

SUNRISE REGION — Chase Leaders’ second goal of the match snapped a 2-2 tie with 12 minutes to play and lifted Silverado (15-2-3) to a 3-2 win over Las Vegas (11-3-3) in one semifinal.

The Skyhawks will face Eldorado (15-3-1) in the Sunrise Region final at 10 a.m. Saturday. Josh Cormier scored just 16 seconds into the match as the Sundevils earned a 1-0 victory over Basic (9-4-6).

Silverado built a 2-0 lead on first-half goals by Kyle Mellies and Leaders, but the Wildcats tied the match in the first 15 minutes of the second half on Jose Camacho’s drive after a Skyhawks turnover and Danny Farias’ header.

Las Vegas had three opportunities to take the lead but was turned away by Silverado goalie Joey Mora, who finished with eight saves.

“(Mora) kept us in the game in the first couple of minutes,” Skyhawks coach John Cwik said. “He’s as good as they get around here.”

Leaders, a freshman, scored on Silverado’s only shot on goal of the second half, squeezing a shot inside the left post after a corner kick by Gary Diego.

“He’s finding the spotlight at the right time,” Cwik said. “He’s a very good player.”

Eldorado took possession to start the match and drove down the right side of the field, where Noe Mejia crossed a pass into the box. Cormier headed the ball into the net for the lone goal.

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