The Arizona Interscholastic Association has moved three boys state soccer semifinal games from Tucson High to different schools in the Phoenix area, citing the availability of turf fields.
Due to unavailable fields in Tucson area, 4A-5A boys & girls soccer semifinals will be played at their original championship sites in Metro Phoenix. 4A semis at Williams Field & 5A semis at Coronado. An all-Southern Arizona final matchup will still be played at Marana Mtn. View. pic.twitter.com/V76TEyfLos
— AZPreps365 (@AZPreps365) February 14, 2019
Top-seeded Sunnyside will take on No. 5 Glendale Independence in the Class 5A state semifinals, which will now be played at 11 a.m. Saturday at Scottsdale's Coronado High School. Second-seeded Rincon/University will take on No. 3 Gilbert Campo Verde at 1 p.m., also at Coronado.
The Class 4A state semifinal between top-seeded Salpointe Catholic at and No. 4 Flagstaff, originally scheduled for Tucson High, will now be played at 3 p.m. at Gilbert's Williams Field High School. The other semifinal match featuring No. 7 Catalina Foothills and No. 5 Prescott will now be played at 11 a.m., also at Williams Field.
At issue is the availability of turf fields in Tucson and the policy to play state semifinal games at neutral sites. Tucson High's field is under repair, the AIA said, making games there impossible. Salpointe has a turf field, but playing there would have given the Lancers a homefield advantage. The AIA prefers to play as many games as possible at a single site, and was unlikely to keep two games in Tucson while sending another one back to the Phoenix area. All-Southern Arizona championship matches are possible in the Class 5A and Class 4A boys brackets and in the Class 4A girls bracket; if that occurs, the matches will be played at Mountain View on Monday.
The new schedule now looks like this:
Boys soccer
Class 5A state semifinals:
No. 1 Sunnyside vs. No. 5 Glendale Independence at Scottsdale Coronado High School, 11 a.m.
No. 2 Rincon/University at No. 3 Gilbert Campo Verde at Scottsdale Coronado High School, 1 p.m.
Class 4A state semifinals:
No. 7 Catalina Foothills vs. No. 6 Prescott at Gilbert Williams Field, 11 a.m.
No. 1 Salpointe Catholic vs. No. 4 Flagstaff at Gilbert Williams Field High School, 3 p.m.
Girls soccer
Class 5A state semifinals:
No. 1 Ironwood Ridge vs. No. 5 Gilbert Campo Verde at Scottsdale Coronado High School, 3 p.m.
Class 4A state semifinals:
No. 5 Catalina Foothills vs. No. 1 Phoenix Thunderbird at Gilbert Williams Field High School, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Salpointe Catholic vs. No. 2 Phoenix Arcadia at Gilbert Williams Field High School, 5 p.m.
