Marcos Granda is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler for AZPreps365.com

CHANDLER – The boys soccer team of Chandler High School could not top the Basha Bears on senior night for the Wolves. Despite the last-minute drama, the game ended scoreless in the fourth straight match without a victory for Chandler.

The clock was winding down on the second overtime when the referee indicated a foul on the Bears. The cross fell short, and forwards Isaac Barreno and Jonathan Hernandez had a last chance with only 30 seconds left and an open field. 

Barreno tried to assist Hernandez as Basha’s goalkeeper, Gavin Stella, abandoned the goal. The Bears defenders arrived just in time, however, to prevent Hernandez, Chandler’s top scorer, from attempting a shot.

“We could’ve taken the game home,” Hernandez said. “We had a lot of chances, we had to put the ball behind the net, but we just couldn't get the ball in. And yeah, it's probably gonna haunt me.”

Although that last play was one of the best chances for the Wolves to score, it was not the only one. Chandler fired off 12 shots, five of them on target, finding good looks particularly  on corner kicks. 

The two other most promising chances for the Wolves came from the corner. In the second half, junior Milo Landreman had an inside-the-box kick after a corner, but his shot struck the crossbar. Later in overtime, another cross by midfielder Landreman was headed and directed to the net, but a Bear defender stopped it at the goal line. 

“We had the best chances.” Chandler head coach Sasha Hunter said. “Our guys knew, we just couldn't finish. I mean we had possession of the ball majority of the time and we had opportunity after opportunity but we just couldn't put it down.”

The crossbar played a major role for the Wolves. Right after halftime, Barreno was able to shake a defender on the left side of the field, then put a perfectly placed cross on senior Blaise Mbonseza. However, the left wing directed his head downwards,  so that his try hit the grass first, then caromed off the crossbar as well.

This draw prevented the seniors from bidding farewell to their home stadium with a victory. It also kept the Wolves from improving their record after three straight losses. Although Chandler was once ranked No. 4 in the state in 6A, the three defeats dropped the Wolves to No. 14 with only one game left in the season.

“Coming off from three losses, it was a good chance to try to get a victory in the last home game of the season," coach Hunter said. "Couldn't do it.” 

The Wolves are now 7-3-1 overall and, in the conference, 0-2-1: last place of the 6A Premier region.

Despite the troubles at scoring, there were some positive aspects for Chandler. On the defensive side, the Wolves looked very strong. The only Basha shots that goalkeeper Simon Turner had to stop came from long distance and were slow. 

That was caused by the great defensive performance from Dillon Hunter and Jacob Hernandez on center back, Josue Miramontes on the right back and Kagan Pfeffer on the left. Both fullbacks performed very well on defense and helped the offense by making the field wider and even producing dangerous crosses.

As for the center backs, they were able to stop most of the Bears’ clear chances, and were the most dangerous in the box when they had the chance to join the attack. 

That defensive effort paid off, as the Bears could not enjoy chances from the corner, and could only cross it on two early fouls that were easily stopped by the Wolves.

The only time Chandler’s defense was not able to stop an attack by Basha, the post prevented the shot from finding the back of the net in what was one of the only two shots on target the Bears could produce. 

Another good chance for the Bears came from a long-range foul kick, but Marco Perez’s ball soared high and never found the target.

The Chandler Wolves will now travel to Gilbert to face the Perry Pumas (8-3, 1-2) next Monday, Feb. 7, in which will be their season finale.