Don Ketchum
Former Staff Writer, AZPreps365.com

Catalina Foothills girls capture 4th straight soccer title

February 9, 2013 by Don Ketchum, AZPreps365


The soccer field at Gilbert Campo Verde High should be named after Emily Parker.

She likes playing there. It’s easy to understand why . . .

A year ago as a freshman, she scored a key goal for Tucson Catalina Foothills in a 2-0 victory over Cave Creek Cactus Shadows for the Division II state championship.

On Saturday (Feb. 9), Parker, now a sophomore, was at it again.

She scored two goals as Catalina Foothills dispatched Glendale Apollo 3-0, to win its fourth straight state title and sixth since 2006 under coach Charlie Kendrick.

Catalina Foothills finished at 22-3-2, and the only two losses for Apollo (20-2) were to Catalina Foothills. The other came in the Horizon tournament in December.

Parker scored her first goal with 14:51 left in the first half following a corner kick by her sister, Maddie, a senior.

Catalina Foothills took a 2-0 lead with 28:04 left in the match on a header by Aminah Settles, and Emily Parker scored for the second time with 18:40 left on a solid shot from the left side.

Of her first goal, Parker said forward Shelby Tober did all the work, putting the ball in position and probably should have been credited with the score.

Parker was happy that she could help send Maddie and five other seniors out in a memorable way. It is extremely rare that players win a state title in each of their four years.

“It’s great that the seniors could do that,’’ Emily said. “I’m going to miss her (Maddie) so much (when she goes on to play in college). I love my sister.’’

Another of the seniors is goalkeeper Laura DeMers. Her teammates defended well and rarely allowed Apollo to get close enough for a shot. When a shot did come, DeMers was there to stop it.

Kendrick allowed DeMers and most of the seniors who were in the lineup at the time to leave the match with about 15 minutes left.

DeMers wept and there were hugs all around, and a few of the girls even took photos to mark the occasion.

“I’m beyond excited. I’m pretty much in shock,’’ DeMers said while discussing the four-year run.

She said many people had doubts about this year’s team because last year’s champion had quite a few seniors.

“The more people doubted us, the more we wanted it,’’ she said.

A 1-0 victory over Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep in the semifinals on Wednesday (Feb. 6) was important.

“They were a very tough team,’’ DeMers said. “We overcame that struggle to get here and that’s what good teams do.’’

Winning it all never gets tiring for Kendrick, who got a shower of cold water on the brisk day.

“This just shows you the quality of the kids at our school. We are blessed with great players,’’ he said.

Kendrick gave credit to Apollo, coached by Amanda Wright and Mark Varela, for its aggressiveness.  He was pleased with the way his team played, particularly in the second half.

“It was the best second half we played all tournament long,’’ he said.