Tanque Verde will be right at 'home' in first title match

Tanque Verde’s girls soccer team will travel to Gilbert on Saturday to play in its first state championship, but it will feel like it is playing on its home turf.

No, really: the Hawks are taking a little piece of home with them.

Before leaving for their state quarterfinal last Saturday, first-year coach Shana Olayvar picked up a little something from both 18-yard boxes and midfield.

“We bring our own grass to the field that we play. We call it ‘our roots,’” Olayvar said. “So it’s like every game feels like a home game for us because it’s on our turf.”

The Hawks went on to upset second seeded Thatcher 1-0, before taking down No. 6 Pusch Ridge Christian 2-0 in Tuesday’s semifinal match at Tucson High. Now seventh-seeded Tanque Verde faces No. 4 Anthem Prep for the Division IV state championship on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Gilbert Williams Field.

“Right before the (Thatcher) game everyone shoved some grass in their cleats and I rubbed it on my gloves and stuff and it was just like a little memento,” said junior captain Elena Rauschen. “We’re always going to have that Tanque Verde spirit, even when we’re away.”

Anthem Prep upset top-seeded River Valley 5-0 in the semifinals.

The win over Thatcher in the quarterfinals avenged last months’ 2-1 loss to the Eagles.

Since then, Tanque Verde (13-4-1) has won five in a row to make it to the state final for the first time in program history.

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“It’s, like, mind-blowing, breathtaking; it’s crazy to think that we got all the way here,” said junior captain Mackenzie Bernal. “The whole entire school is freaking out about it. We’ve got buses that are coming, everyone’s really excited. It’s really motivating for us to make sure it’s worth it to them too.”

The Hawks’ entered the season trying to make the state tournament after falling one win short in 2015. Now, Rauschen says her schoolmates have been giving the players high-fives in the hallways.

“We’ve had so much support from the student body and teachers,” Rauschen said. “We’re going to have a ton of fans cheering for us.”

Tanque Verde rallied from an early 1-0 deficit in the first round against 10th-seeded Apache Junction at home to win 3-1. It hasn’t given up a goal since.

Olayvar said the key to their winning streak has been building their confidence and their chemistry. They also have a team motto, “Hold the rope.”

“We use that as kind of our thing to not give up on each other,” said sophomore center midfielder Michelle Escobar

Rauschen said to win the state title would be fantastic for the northeast-side school, which opened in 2005.

“We get picked on all the time for being ‘Tanque Nerdy,’ being a small school compared to these bigger ones like Sabino and stuff,” Rauschen said. “It’s actually fantastic to get this far.”