Bulldog kickers end 2012 with 2 wins

The Douglas Bulldog soccer team picked up two more wins last week beating rival Rio Rico 3-1 Monday, Dec. 17 in Rio Rico before shutting out Empire 3-0 the following night in Vail.

Monday’s game at Rio Rico saw the Bulldogs go down early with the Hawks scoring in the 18th minute. Kirt Cormier tied it up in the 27th minute when he was fouled in the penalty box, then successfully scored on the penalty kick.

The two teams battled well into the second half tied 1-1 when Alexis Medina crossing pass to Cormier who scored from the 15 yard line led to the Bulldogs second score at the 60th minute. Then in the 67th minute, Hiram Iniquez put the game on ice when Chris Cruz found an opening in the defense line, made the perfect pass, and Iniquez blasted it past the goalie giving Douglas a 3-1 edge.

The Bulldogs out shot Rio Rico 14-8.

“Rio Rico is always tough, and this was a typical hard fought game,” Douglas’ coach Ken Cormier said.

The coach said goalie Marc Gonzalez, a sophomore who had four saves, had an outstanding game for Douglas, making two critical saves.

On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs wrapped up their last game of 2012 with an impressive 3-0 win over Empire High School.

Douglas out shot Empire 24-0, and right from the outset it was a barrage of shots on the Ravens goal.

The Bulldogs first score came at the 23rd minute from Javier Buelna. Cormier then scored on a penalty kick at the 53rd minute and Ozzie Romero finished of the scoring at the 68th minute.

Goalies Gonzalez and Estevan Mora had no saves on the night.

“Empire played with as many as nine players in the goalie area, making it very challenging to score,” Coach Cormier said. “We knew it was just a matter of time before we got on the scoreboard, but it was getting a bit frustrated at times. However, it was a great way to finish the first half of the season with everyone getting a substantial amount of playing time and coming away with the win.”

The week of Dec, 10-14 the Bulldogs played in the Sabino Sabercat soccer tournament and emerged with a 1-2 record.

The Bulldogs defeated Flowing Wells 3-2, with goals from Cormier, Hugo Grijalva, and Alexis Medina. In their other two matches, Douglas lost to Desert View 3-0 and Rincon 5-1, with Alexis Medina scoring the lone goal for the Bulldogs.

Coach Cormier said the tournament was very beneficial experience for his team’s development.

“We played some very talented teams, and focused more on rotations and playing time than the final outcome,” he said. “Since these games have no bearing on power ranking points, we used these contests to try to develop our overall effectiveness. The bottom line is that these teams are very skilled, and unless we were willing to take them head-on, we just aren’t capable of competing with them.”

The Bulldogs finish the first half of their season with a 5-0-1 sectional record. Sectional rankings will be posted by the AIA on January 8.

“We’ll take a few days off for Christmas and New Year’s, then begin preparation for the second half of our season,” the coach said.

The Bulldogs next game will be at home against Garden Grove High School on Tuesday, January 8th at 6:00 p.m.

Junior varsity

The Douglas JV’s began their season Nov. 29 with a 2-2 tie at Nogales. Luis Coronado scored both goals for Douglas.

On Dec. 4 the Bulldogs blanked Sahuaro’s JV’s 5-0 as Fabian Lopez had three goals and Hector Villegas and Zeke Miller each had one.

On Dec. 5 the Bulldog JV’s shutout Safford 11-0 as Lopez, Jose McGrew and Miller each had two goals and Abraham Carbajal, Andres Cruz, Luis Coronado, David Perez and Leo Montano each had one.

“We're really pleased with the hard work and effort put in by all the JV players trying to gain a spot on the team and fight for a position at the varsity level,” Douglas’ JV Coach Alfonso Romero said.