Damon Fairall is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chaparral High School for AZPreps365.com

SCOTTSDALE -- A barrage of second-half goals lifted No. 2 Chaparral over No. 3 Pinnacle, 4-0, in what was a rematch of last year’s 6A state semifinals. 

The win, Chaparral's sixth straight, puts the Firebirds into sole possession of first place in the 6A Desert Valley Region. It also gives the Scottsdale powerhouse a real case to be the new No. 1 team in the state.  

The scoring kicked off in the fourth minute. Firebirds junior forward Sami Fisher collected a rebound off a corner kick on the edge of the box and fired the ball into the back of the net. “I kind of just shot it and hoped for the best,” said Fisher. 

Fisher leads the Firebirds in both goals and assists this season, but her coach appreciates the intangibles that she provides the most. 

“She is a great leader on and off the field,” said Chaparral coach Robyn Carlson. “By her play, she lifts everyone up around her.”

Fisher remained a problem for Pinnacle the rest of the night. 

After that early score, Chaparral’s game plan shifted. The Firebirds opted to keep most of their players back behind the ball in order to maintain their lead. From then on, the Firebirds’ offensive strategy was clear: send through balls to Fisher and let her take care of the rest. 

The plan worked.

In the 62nd minute, Fisher beat the Pinnacle keeper with a cross that landed at the feet of sophomore Hennessy Brown. The Chaparral sophomore handled the easy tap-in to double the lead at 2-0. 

A mere five minutes later, Fisher again was sent a through ball over the top of the Pinnacle defense. After out-sprinting the Pinnacle defenders down the pitch, she rounded the keeper and scored to make it a 3-0 game. 

Chaparral’s scoring blitz ended with junior Mikaela Carlson’s penalty kick in the 76th minute. 

For Pinnacle, most of its scoring chances came off corner kicks, but Chaparral senior goalkeeper Avery Fletcher kept her defense organized and ensured that each corner was properly dealt with. The result was Chaparral's seventh clean sheet in 10 matches.

Carlson believes that the leadership and chemistry of her team is what makes the Firebirds special.  

“They’re just united, and they’re team players,” said Carlson. “All 21 of them lift each other up and they play for each other and they play for Chaparral. And I think that’s super important, that they’re really connected. Whether they’re on the bench screaming or they're on the field, they’re all in.”

The result was a disappointing one for Pinnacle, which had won seven straight since a Jan. 7 loss at Hamilton, allowing only two goals in that stretch. “We just didn’t show up to play,” said Pinnacle coach Jen White. “They were just more physical than us and we didn’t come ready to go.”

Pioneer senior forward Kate Faasse had a quiet game for her standards. The North Carolina commit failed to register a goal or assist, despite averaging 1.8 goals per game and 0.6 assists per game this season.  

Carlson knew that stopping Faasse and Pinnacle’s attack was going to take maximum effort from her squad.

“You just want your team to go out there and give everything they have and play hard,” said Carlson. “I thought the girls did that. There was a while where we just really stepped up defensively.”

Despite the four-goal margin of victory, the game was contentious from start to finish. That may have been incited by a social media back-and-forth between the players from earlier in the day. 

This was no shock considering the recent history between the two sides. 

“They beat us in the regular season and then we beat them in playoffs so we’ve been rivals,” said Fisher. 

With both teams poised to make the state playoffs, the possibility of a fourth matchup and a second playoff matchup in as many years still remains. 

Next up, Pinnacle (8-2) will look to avenge their loss against Sandra Day O’Connor (6-5) on Thursday at home. 

Chaparral (8-0-2) will take on Mountain Ridge (6-8) on the road this Thursday, hoping to keep their section lead with only two games remaining before playoffs.