Only tying the game with less than two minutes remaining, ALA Gilbert North stormed to the 3A title match courtesy of a 6-3 overtime win.
The Eagles had trailed for much of the game after a sluggish start saw them fall 3-0 behind, but ultimately toppled Veritas Prep.
Caught off-guard by a long throw in the first ten minutes, the top seeds could only watch as Landon Briggs put them behind. More goals shortly after from Ethan Swonger and Nick Logan tripled the advantage by the quarter hour mark.
After the game, ALA player Justin Provenzano admitted his side was “surprised” by the way that their opposition came out.
“After we go down, all of us we pick it up,” he said. “We think we have to go harder, and we work together as a team.”
The comeback was soon on. A shot from the edge of the box from Sam Bellows put his side within two shortly before the break. However, tensions continued to run high following two rejected appeals for Eagles penalties.
Despite continued ALA pressure, the Falcons held on for much of the second half. They had chances of their own, too, which could have almost certainly sealed the deal.
Instead, Aiden Gonzalez’s free kick from wide breathed life into ALA with 11 minutes to go, allowing Edgar Hernandez to level the scores with just 115 seconds left to go.
From there, there was only one winner in sight. Five minutes into overtime, Provenzano found the net, before adding another in the second, and finally Aiden Jones sealing the deal with his side’s sixth goal just minutes from time.
“I think we weren’t fit enough,” Veritas Prep coach Richard Cardenas said of the difference between the two teams. “I think they had better fitness and that in the end is what kills us.”
His opposing number concurred.
“I think really it was our type of football and the way that we play,” Michael Gonzalez said. “We move the ball around. It works. You can tell it wore them down. They had a lot of cramps. We were tired as well, but the ball did most of the work.”
ALA Gilbert North will face Phoenix Country Day in the 3A championship game at 12pm on Saturday.