Flowing Wells defeated Casa Grande 5-1 Tuesday night to claim the Division III, Section III title. The win guarantees a state playoff spot for the 14th ranked Caballeros, the first postseason appearance since the program made the semifinal round in 2010.

Flowing Wells was a power-program from 2006 to 2010. It was a period that included a second place finish (2006) and two state championships (2007 and 2009) to go along with the semifinal appearance. Then the wins stopped coming.

The program finished the 2013 season ranked 43rd, the 2014 season ranked 43rd again and the 2015 season ranked 46th. The Caballeros were going nowhere fast. Then came youth and influx of athletes who played the club circuit in the offseason.

"I love a young team," said head coach Alex Davis. "You can build a program especially when they come playing better soccer and they know what it looks like to play at a different level."

An All-State player at Flowing Wells herself, Davis went on to star at the University of Arizona before coming back to serve as assistant and then head coach. 

As mentioned before, Flowing Wells is ranked 14th but a move up in the rankings is expected after the win, even with Casa Grande coming in ranked 39th. The team still has a "Freedom Game" against Florence scheduled for Wednesday night and then the team will gather on Friday to watch the AIA Bracket Show to see who they will play next Tuesday in the first round.

Saydie Chavez is one of eight freshmen on the team. She scored twice to help pace Flowing Wells to the win. Her goal in the 32nd minute (Nataly Gonzalez) was followed by another in the 37th.

"We are young but we are trying to work together. Chavez explained. "We didn't start the year out too well but we all feel like we accomplished this together. It was a long journey for us."

Chavez was right, the team started out 0-4 and 2-8 heading into section play but the team reeled off eight straight wins to get to the playoffs.

Fellow freshman Sol Munguia put Flowing Wells up 3-0 on a breakaway in the 45th but Amber Hernandez put Buena on the board in the 49th minute to cut the lead down to 3-1.

Giselle Orduno found the net in the 64th and Flowing Wells added another in the 73rd for the 5-1 win.

Besides eight freshmen, the program also sports eight sophomores, one junior and only four seniors. Davis will have the youth she needs for a few more years.