Andrea Aguilera is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Veritas Preparatory Academy for AZPreps365.com

Veritas Prep, the defending 3A champions, celebrated Senior Night on Thursday with a 1-0 win over Phoenix Country Day, moving the two teams into a tie for first place in the 3A Central Region.

“That was a really important mark for us (today) to defend our title,” Falcons coach Richard Cardenas said.

The Falcons started off with an aggressive offense, with their first attempt before the five minute mark. Despite Veritas playing tight, PCDS played good defense and was able to stretch out the field in the middle of the first half. 

Although the game started to get evenly matched midway through the first half, the PCDS Eagles were playing long balls through the first half which would end up resulting in the Falcons' favor, as their defense was well spread throughout the field and not letting balls through.

After a scoreless first half, the Eagles started attacking more aggressively and matching up to Veritas, but their shots could not make it past goalkeeper Andrew Logan.

With noticeable speed, Veritas Prep senior Samuel Zook ran across the field multiple times to steal the ball from PCDS and attempt to assist goals. 

The only goal of the match came after Zook’s set piece to captain Landon Briggs with 24 minutes left in the game.

“We knew if we would get chances on set pieces, that’s where we were gonna score,” Cardenas said.

Although Veritas did not let its guard down after the goal and kept playing a tight field, the Eagles kept playing aggressive offense but two more saves by Logan kept the score at 1-0 though the rest of the game.

Veritas Prep is now 9-3 with a 7-1 record in its region. Phoenix Country Day also has a 7-1 region record, and is 8-2 overall.

“Winning this (match) shows that we can win state again,” senior Ethan Swonger said. “To finalize our year out of high school, and to show that we’re not just a one-time championship winner, it shows our school what we’re capable of."

Swonger credited Cardenas for the Falcons' success.

“The last three years Coach Cardenas really brought us together." Swonger said. "He noticed our talents, saw our weaknesses, saw our strengths, and capitalized on our strengths. And we are where we are today because of him.”

Cardenas joined the team after the previous coach left in 2018 and has since taken the team to the semifinals in 2019 and won the state championship in 2020.

“You gotta find the right recipe for every player and the team together, and figure out how to make something positive out of what you have after you graduate some really good seniors,” Cardenas said. “It’s taken us most of the season to figure it out, but the last few games I think we’ve figured it out.”