Yuma girls outshot 29-2 in 5A Central Region home opener

The score is one thing, but sometimes to get a true sense of dominance by one team over the other, the supporting stats may tell the true story.

In Yuma's home 5A Central Region opener against second-ranked Corona del Sol, the Criminals fell 8-0 at Doan Field on Monday night.

But these numbers told the truth behind the score: 69-11 and 29-2.

"I was happy we kept it under 10 after halftime," Yuma coach Ron Arviso said. "We held them in the second half by putting in another sweeper and stopper."

The Aztecs (8-1, 1-0) were up 7-0 at halftime, sparked by three of freshman Chelsea Bednarz's four goals, and two goals by Dana Halvorsen.

The Aztecs put enough pressure on the Criminals to keep the ball on the Yuma side of the field for an astounding 69 minutes of the game.

To wit, Corona was able to outshoot Yuma 29-2, with the Criminals' (3-5, 0-1) first shot on goal coming at the ninth minute mark of the second half.

"I was impressed with our goalkeeper," Arviso said. "(Corona) is very quick and fast and they pass very well."

Goalkeeper Maritza Arias is one of a few that Arviso has used this season and she played exceptionally well by making 12 saves, some of which were of the spectacular variety.

Corona, whose only loss of the season was against 5A defending champions Scottsdale-Horizon, managed its goals with the long pass and by splitting the middle against Yuma defenders that left Arias facing quite a few breakaways. They started with Bednarz's first goal six minutes into the game that gave the Aztecs a 1-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the match.