SCOTTSDALE — With the Arizona sun finally shining, the 32nd annual SC Del Sol President’s Day Tournament wrapped up Monday as teams were finally able to get back to match play.

After Saturday’s rainout and Sunday’s all-day penalty kicks, teams were anxious to actually play matches, even though they had to be shortened to ensure completion of all scheduled games.

Monday’s action at the Scottsdale Sports Complex featured semifinals and finals in all age groups. Full results are posted below. Following are reports from a couple of feature matches.

U15 Girls Final: Santa Rosa United Shock 2, Oregon Rush 1

After a relatively flat first half in the U15 Girls final, the Santa Rosa United Shock knew they had to shift into a higher gear.

The Northern California side did just that, using a burst of energy to score back-to-back goals with about 10 minutes to play in the second half en route to a 2-1 victory over the Oregon Rush.

“In the first half I thought they (the Rush) were first to the ball and being more aggressive,” Santa Rosa coach Paul Dixon said. “I think they had more energy than us, and we talked about just stepping it up a little bit.”

Santa Rosa’s first goal came on a long kick from right of the goal off the foot of midfielder Hannah Diaz. It first looked like the shot could go high off the crossbar, but the ball sank just over the goalkeeper’s hands.

The goal fueled Santa Rosa’s energy and midfielder Valeria LaForge netted a hard kick from close range about a minute later to give her team a 2-0 advantage. Dixon said the team’s second-half energy was a major difference maker.

“We got even more energy after the goals,” Dixon said. “There was a little spring in our step.”

The Rush, however, came back with an energy of their own despite much of the team battling food poisoning over the weekend. With about five minutes to play, the Rush scored their lone goal, a soft shot initially stopped before rolling in off the goalkeeper.

“We were a little bit disappointed to give one up there at the end because very rarely we concede any goals,” Dixon said. “They put us under a little bit of pressure the last five minutes.”

The Rush managed a few more chances before the final whistle, but Santa Rosa goalkeeper Madalyn Thomas preserved the lead, giving Santa Rosa its fifth tournament win of the season.

Santa Rosa controlled the ball much of the first half, but their low energy allowed the Rush a number of breakaway chances. Santa Rosa’s increased energy was clearly visible in forward Mia Costa, who efficiently managed the ball along the sidelines, setting her team up for a number of opportunities in the middle.

Santa Rosa, who topped fellow Northern California team Placer United SC to reach the final, went 6-0 in the tournament.

“We took care of business,” Dixon said. “We were mentally strong. It was our first tournament out of state [this season], so it was nice to win it.”

U17 Boys Final: Minnesota Thunder Academy ‘94 1,  SC Del Sol ’94 (AZ)  0   (PKs)

Sunday’s all penalty kick format was frustrating to most teams, but it may have ultimately paid off for Minnesota Thunder Academy as they took home the U17 Boys title in a shootout victory over SC Del Sol.

“We certainly felt a lot more comfortable doing it fresh,” MTA coach Lev Buslovich said. “In hindsight, that helped us, but it’s not what we came here for. We came here to get a bunch of good games.”

Buslovich got a good game against SC Del Sol, as strong defense from both teams meant a scoreless draw and forced yet another shootout. Overtime was not utilized Monday in order to keep the tournament running on time and accommodate travel restrictions for teams like the Thunder who had to catch a flight home.

After hometown SC Del Sol opened the PKs with a miss, MTA took advantage, making four consecutive shots to win. MTA got goals from Evan Panken, Kevin Krueger, Nicholas Manzoni and the winner from Tyler Tumberg.

Despite the absence of a few key players who didn’t travel for the tournament, MTA defeated Neusport FC ’94 (NV) 2-0 earlier in the day to reach the final. After allowing SC Del Sol an early possession advantage, MTA slowly took hold of the game’s momentum.

About midway through the first half, Krueger entered as a substitute and quickly took control of the sidelines to set up a number of chances before halftime.

“They had a lot more breakaways at the beginning mainly because we didn’t step back and win those headballs,” Buslovich said.

MTA seemed to simply outrun SC Del Sol in the second period, utilizing the speed of players like Evan Panken to wear out their opponent.

“Toward the last 15 or 20 minutes, their team just got tired chasing us,” Buslovich said, adding that he thought his team was on the verge of scoring and would have in an overtime.

Panken and Alex Niederloh nearly gave MTA a regulation lead with close chances off the crossbar only moments apart with about five minutes remaining.

Buslovich praised the efforts of his goalkeeper Alexander Elvidge, the team’s only senior, who only allowed two goals during the PK.

“Our goalkeeper was amazing,” Buslovich said. “He saved three penalty kicks in the quarterfinals. I think it was intimidating mentally for everybody to even try to get it past him.”

Buslovich expressed some frustration with not getting to play as many matches as planned during the tournament, but was pleased in the end to go 5-1 and walk away with a tournament crown before MTA’s season begins in April.

“This was more of a warmup for us,” Buslovich said. “We’re just getting going. To win a tournament like this feels pretty darn good.”

Monday’s Semifinal Results (Scroll Down for Finals – all courtesy SC del Sol)

U13 BOYS
CCV STARS 98 BLACK (AZ)     0     CROSSFIRE PREMIER B97A JAMES (WA)     2
NEW MEXICO RUSH SELECT (NM)    4    LVSA 98 BOYS RED (NV)      1

U14 BOYS
LVSA 97 BOYS RED (NV)     2      SCOTTSDALE SOCCER 97 BLACKHAWKS (AZ)     0
SOCKERS FC CHICAGO CUP (IL)     1    MILAN ROSSONERI (CAN)    3

U15 BOYS
FC UNITED SELECT (IL)       2        NEUSPORT '96 GREEN (NV)    5
CISCO - TUCSON 96 - FIERRO (AZ)    3    AZ FURY 96 JUVENTUS (AZ)    1

U16 BOYS
RESTON FC 94 (VA)      1        INTER 95 PREMIER (UT)    2
HARLEYSVILLE SA FC PREMIER (PAE)      1       MEXICAS 95 (TXS)    4

U17 BOYS
SC DEL SOL 94 (AZ)      2     SCOTTSDALE SOCCER 94 BLACKHAWKS (AZ)       0
NEUSPORT '94 GREEN (NV)    0    MINNESOTA THUNDER ACADEMY 94 (MN)      2

U19 MENS
SAN TAN 93 LEGACY RED (AZ)     3     LAS VEGAS PREMIER '93 WHITE (NV)   0
BLUE KNIGHTS '93 (UT)    1    GILBERT ARSENAL 93 PREMIER (AZ)      0

U13 GIRLS
REAL COLORADO 97/98 NATIONAL (CO)    1    NORTHWEST NATIONALS 97 RED (WA)    2
SERENO SC 98 GIRLS WHITE (AZ)    1    STING SC 98G (TXN)    0

U14 GIRLS
WEST COAST FC G96 (CAS)    3    COLORADO RUSH SELECT (CO)       1
SONOMA COUNTY ALLIANCE SC 97 (CAN)    2    NORTHWEST NATIONALS PREMIER SC G96 RED (WA)    0

U15 GIRLS
SANTA ROSA UNITED SHOCK (CAN)    2    PLACER UNITED SC PRESTIGE 96 GOLD (CAN)      0
PAFC STRIKERS (CAN)    0    OREGON RUSH SELECT (OR)    2

U16 GIRLS
DAVIS SC LEGACY 95 (CAN)    3    FC NOVA SUPERNOVA ELITE (ID)    0
OMAHA FC 94/95 ELITE 1 (NE)    0    MICHIGAN RUSH NORTHVILLE (MI)    2

U17 GIRLS
PLACER UNITED SC PRESTIGE 94 GOLD (CAN)    3    CAP FC UNITED FC93 (CAN)    0
SPARTA UNITED 94 PREMIER (UT)    1    RIO VISTA FC 94 EAGLES (NM)    0

U19 WOMENS
SC DEL SOL 93 (AZ)    3    WINDY CITY PRIDE 39 (IL)    1
SPARTA UNITED SPARTA 93 PREMIER DB (UT)    1    CALIFORNIA COUGARS (CAN)    0

Monday’s Final Results

U13 BOYS
CROSSFIRE PREMIER B97A (WA)     0     NEW MEXICO RUSH SELECT (NM)    1

U14 BOYS
LVSA 97 BOYS RED (NV)    0    MILAN ROSSONERI (CAN)    2

U15 BOYS
NEUSPORT '96 GREEN (NV)    5    CISCO - TUCSON 96 - FIERRO (AZ)    2

U16 BOYS
INTER 95 PREMIER (UT)    1    MEXICAS 95 (TXS)      0

U17 BOYS
SC DEL SOL 94 BOYS (AZ)     0    MINNESOTA THUNDER ACADEMY 94 (MN)     1

U19 MENS
SAN TAN 93 LEGACY RED (AZ)    0    BLUE KNIGHTS '93 (UT)    1

U13 GIRLS
NORTHWEST NATIONALS 97 RED (WA)     1     SERENO SC 98 GIRLS WHITE (AZ)     0    

U14 GIRLS
WEST COAST FC G96 (CAS)     2      SONOMA COUNTY ALLIANCE SC 97 (CAN)     0

U15 GIRLS
SANTA ROSA UNITED SHOCK (CAN)    2    OREGON RUSH SELECT (OR)    1    

U16 GIRLS
DAVIS SC LEGACY 95 (CAN)    0    MICHIGAN RUSH NORTHVILLE (MI)    3

U17 GIRLS
PLACER UNITED SC PRESTIGE 94 GOLD (CAN) 3    SPARTA UNITED 94 PREMIER (UT)    2

U19 WOMENS
SC DEL SOL 93 (AZ)    2    SPARTA UNITED PREMIER DB (UT)       3