Ansley Burns has played soccer for a long time. The Xavier Prep senior has played all over the field, at just about all positions. She can kick and control the ball with either foot. When she touches the ball, she can get a good sense about where it is going to go.
In the first
half of Xavier’s first-round 6A Conference state tournament game at Queen Creek
on Saturday (Feb. 12), playing mainly on the side, she set up her teammates
with good passes.
The ball did
not find the back of the net, although on a few occasions it appeared to, but
no goal was awarded.
At halftime,
Xavier coach Barb Chura kept encouraging her players, telling them somehow,
somewhere, they would find more opportunities. You know, just wait for it.
Then, on a
dust bowl field full of potholes, the sun, thinking it was midsummer, continued
to beat down on players and fans alike, the opportunity indeed did present
itself.
At first, Burns
did not realize that she would be the focal point. The Queen Creek defense did
not, either.
Ansley Burns (Xavier photo). |
Bingo. Xavier, 1-0. With 13:10 left in the
contest, it was now up to the ninth-seeded Gators to finish this thing off with
good defense that would keep the ball away from the No. 8 Bulldogs for as long
as possible. They did it!
Xavier soccer players spill onto the field after the team's 1-0 first-round victory at Queen Creek on Saturday. (Photo by Sr. Lynn Winsor). |
As the last few seconds clicked away to zero, Xavier players on the sideline jumped with excitement and swarmed the field. Next stop: quarterfinals at top-ranked Scottsdale Chaparral on Wednesday night (Feb. 16).
“All along,
we kept talking about finding the next pass (find the teammate in the best
position to move the ball forward),’’ Burns said. “That’s what I was trying to
do. Then I thought I might have a chance by sending it back across (the front
of the goal).’’
She barely
saw the ball reach its intended destination.
After the
physical game that had both sides hitting the dirt (there was no turf to speak
of), Burns said, almost sheepishly, “Well, I fell down. I was able to look over
and see the ball go in.’’
Chura was
pleased with the way her team played, “particularly with all of the
physicality.’’
Another big
factor for the Gators was the defense, led by freshman Ally Brown, who was
assigned to cover Queen Creek’s top offensive player, Raegan Richardson, and
kept her off the board.
So now it is
on to Chaparral for a rematch of last season’s state title match won by Xavier,
2-0. The teams also played in the second game of the 2021-22 season, battling
to a 1-1 tie. Xavier is 9-3-2, Chaparral 14-3-2.
6A Conference first-round scores
Saturday,
Feb. 12
Scottsdale
Chaparral 4, Maricopa High 0; Xavier
Prep 1, Queen Creek 0; Phoenix Pinnacle 1, Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 0;
Peoria 3, Mesa Desert Ridge 1; Gilbert Perry 4, Anthem Boulder Creek 0;
Chandler Hamilton 2, Gilbert Highland 1; Mesa Red Mountain 3, Tempe Corona del
Sol 2 (OT); Phoenix Desert Vista 2, Chandler Basha 1.
Quarterfinal schedule
Wednesday,
Feb. 16
All games, 6
p.m.
(Seedings in
parentheses)
Xavier Prep (9) at Scottsdale Chaparral (1), Phoenix
Pinnacle (5) at Peoria Liberty (4), Chandler Hamilton (6) at Gilbert Perry (3),
Mesa Red Mountain (10) at Phoenix Desert Vista (2).
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