AWC roundup: Soccer wins, volleyball loses in nailbiters

Arturo Valle scored the last two goals Thursday as Arizona Western came from behind in a 2-1 home soccer win over Paradise Valley.

The Pumas (6-7-1 overall and Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) scored first in the final five minutes of the first half. But Valle tied the match in the 60th minute and won the game 12 minutes into overtime.

It was the third game-winning goal for Valle this year as the Matadors improved to 12-3 overall and in the ACCAC.

“The result is fine,” coach Kenny Dale said. “I really was impressed more with the effort than anything else. I would’ve settled for a tie or even a loss just because of the way we controlled our attitude. We were really positive when the game could’ve gone either way in a lot of instances. The positivity really impressed me, and psychologically, that’s the best we’ve played. I prepared them in the locker room (before the game) by telling them that they might go down a goal, but not to get at each other’s throats if that happened. We had a lot more chances to put it away earlier, but we didn’t get down about that. We just kept playing.”

The Matadors were outshot 6-0 in the first half but controlled the flow of the game late. AWC goalie Oscar Hernandez had six saves for the Matadors as the Pumas’ four-game winning streak came to a close.

JUCO VOLLEYBALL
Glendale storms to win

No. 2 Glendale won the last three games Thursday, capping a comeback against No. 9 Arizona Western, 24-26, 25-27, 25-19, 25-23, 15-13.

Marisha Herbert had 16 kills for the Matadors (12-5 overall, 5-3 ACCAC), while Melissa Wong had 19 digs against the Gauchos (11-4, 8-1).

The Matadors won’t have much time to recover as they head to Prescott to face Yavapai. The two teams are tied for third in the NJCAA Division I standings. AWC swept the earlier meeting against the Roughriders (20-5, 6-4). Only the top two teams from DI advance to the postseason.