2002-2003 Match Results

Gilbert at Dobson 12/2/02

This marked the beginning of another season with numerous new faces dotting the sidelines.  Freshman Krista Mirabelli would open up the scoring in the first half with Nicky Morris and Christine Shoffner assisting.  Gilbert would equalize later in the half and if not for the play of goalkeeper Michelle Fawns, the game could have gone Gilbert's way tonight.  In the second half, Gilbert would score again and take a 2-1 lead which would shortly be erased by some great passing by Christine Shoffner and Alena Ihle who set up Mirabelli's second goal of the evening.  The game would eventually end up going to overtime with neither team really able to generate any quality chances.  The Mustangs will try and regroup for their next match which will be this Wednesday at 5th ranked Corona del Sol.

Dobson at Corona del Sol 12/4/02

Dobson vs. North Canyon 12/9/02

Dobson vs. Paradise Valley 12/10/02

Dobson vs. Desert Vista 12/11/02

Dobson vs. Desert Mountain 12/12/02

The Mustang's young and inexperienced offense was unable to score a goal and Desert Mountain capitalized on one of it's few shots to win this consolation semifinal.  The Mustangs would put a lot of pressure on the Wolves in the second half but the offense just sputtered.  Overall the performance was not a bad one but with the offense on hiatus the team will be focusing a lot in training on getting better scoring opportunities in future games.  Next up will be Central who backed out on the Mustangs last year and will suffer the consequences on Monday.

Dobson vs. Central 12/16/02

Dobson played it's final game before the Christmas break and hosted a Central team that was struggling this season.  Dobson came out early and dominated Central from the get go but the offensive struggles would continue.  Kayla Poe would open up the scoring early by hitting a free kick from 30 yards out.  Christine Shoffner would tally the 2nd goal from a free kick that the Central keeper helped into the goal.  The second half would be more of the same as Dobson would generate numerous shots but finishing would be the problem.  A very fortunate goal would come early and Kim Demelio would put away a penalty shot late for the final 4-0 score.  Michelle Fawns would tally her 3rd shutout of the season on zero saves.  Next up will be Cibola in the Dobson Soccer Locker Invitational.

Dobson vs. Cibola 12/26/02

Dobson opened up the Dobson Soccer Locker Invitational by showing very little of what they had been working on during the last 10 training sessions.  For some reason the Mustangs thought that by playing very direct they could cause problems for the Raiders.  The only problems caused were to themselves as they would enter the halftime break tied 0-0.  The second half would provide a bit more excitement as Krista Mirabelli would notch her 6th goal of the year with a nicely placed ball in the side of the Cibola net.  Christine Shoffner, Nicky Morris and Alena Ihle would add a goal a piece to put the game out of reach.  Ihle would also end the match with two assists and Kim Demelio would also tally a couple of assists. Brittney Smith would get her first points of the season and Michelle Fawns would record her fourth shutout of the season.

Dobson vs. Chaparral 12/27/02

The Mustangs came out fired up for the Firebirds from Chaparral who are one of the top 4A teams in the state.  The Firebirds would have much of the play early on as the Mustangs would try and weather the storm with no real scoring chances in the first half.  As the half came to an end the Mustangs became more composed with the ball and started to look like the team we know they are.  The second half would be more of the same but Dobson showed more life in the second half and could have ended the game on a few occasions but the ball was never able to find it's home.  As is becoming all to familiar, the game would be decided on kicks from the mark and Dobson would find itself at the short end of the stick yet again.  Overall a very gutsy performance and the team will look to rebound on Saturday at 10am against Mountain View.

Dobson vs. Mountain View 12/28/02

The Mustangs and Toros were set to due battle for the tenth time in the two schools history.  The Toros came out much sharper than the Mustangs and the loss of Christine Shoffner due to an ankle injury would definitely cause the Mustangs some problems.  Both teams would battle hard in the first half but the Toros would take advantage of a questionable call and on the ensuing serve, they were able to bang the ball into the back of the net as not a single Mustang player would challenge for the ball in the air.  The second half would allow the Mustangs a chance to show some heart but in the end the Toros would walk away with the 1-0 win.  These two teams are set to battle again on January 10th.

Dobson vs. Highland 1/8/03

This game would be like many of the others the Mustangs have experienced this season.  The defense and the goalkeeping would do their jobs but the offense was unable to generate much of anything.  The Hawks would take an early lead when Rachel Zenuk was able to beat four Mustangs and draw a questionable foul in the penalty area.  She banged home the penalty kick and that would be the end of the scoring on his wet rainy evening.  The Mustangs would pressure the Hawks late but were never able to generate a quality scoring chance.

Dobson vs. Mountain View 1/10/03

Dobson came out fired up and ready to avenge an earlier loss to the Toros.  The game was played much differently then the last time these two teams met.  The Mustangs would play much more physically on the evening and as much as it helped, it would eventually cost the host Mustangs.  Early in the first half, the referee would award a penalty kick to the Toros for a foul committed by outside back Katy Cronenberg.  Stephanie Jones playing in goal for the first time this season would save the penalty kick and give the Mustangs a real emotional boost.  Two fouls in the second half by the Mustangs would be converted by Brittany Lucero of the Toros and the score would finish up 2-0.  The effort by the Mustangs tonight was terrific and anyone who watched the game should be proud of them. 

Dobson vs. Red Mountain  1/13/03

Dobson traveled to Mountain Lion country tonight and got mauled in the first 10 minutes.  The first goal would come in the 1st minute as the Mustang defense was unable to contain the potent Red Mountain attack.  The second goal would be more of the same as the Mustangs looked on as goalkeeper Stephanie Jones made a brilliant save but was unable to hold on to the ball.  The Mountain Lions would crash the goal and put home the final goal of the evening.  Former Dobson player and Assistant Coach Heather Osborn who is in her first year at Red Mountain has her team playing extremely well.  The Mustangs would come alive and threaten a couple of times but to no avail.  The final score would wind up 2-0.

Dobson vs. Mesa  1/15/03

After the tough loss on Monday to Red Mountain which dropped the Mustangs to 0-2 in the region the Mustangs faced a must win game against a tough Mesa team.  The extremely long scoring drought would end in the 8th minute when Alena Ihle would take a well placed pass from Nicky Morris and bang the ensuing shot off the near post and into the goal.  The first half would allow the Mustangs numerous chances but at the end of the half the score would remain 1-0.  There would be more entertaining play from the girls as they would string together numerous passes and combined with one another better than any game we had played all season.  Emily Lundeen would score her first career goal in the second half with the assists going to Krista Mirabelli and Christine Shoffner.  Michelle Fawns was never really tested and would secure her 6th shutout of the season.

Dobson vs. Westwood  1/21/03

The Mustangs traveled to Westwood to continue their fight for a birth in the region playoffs next week.  Dobson would open up the scoring early in the first half when Krista Mirabelli would knock in an Alena Ihle corner kick for the 1-0 lead.  The Mustangs would struggle for much of the remainder of the first half until just before halftime when Katy Cronenberg would tally her first goal of the season and her career.  A beautifully flicked ball by Jasmine Maynes would free up Katy to make her impressive run to the goal where she calmly beat the helpless Westwood keeper.  After the halftime break, the Mustangs would score one of their best goals of the season.  Alena Ihle would play a fantastic ball down the right flank to Meghan Holck who would then serve an awesome ball to the far post of the goal where Samantha Gordon would run right through the ball and put it into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.  Sandy Porter and Adriane Gora would add a goal a piece and the Mustangs would cruise to the 5-0 win.  Michelle Fawns would make three saves on the day to notch her 7th shutout of the season.

Dobson vs. Skyline  1/23/03

Skyline came into the game looking to gain their second region win of the year.  Unfortunately for the Coyotes, it was Senior Night.  It would take the Mustangs a while to get going but midway through the first half Christine Shoffner would hit a fantastic shot to tally the first goal of the match.  Sandy Porter would give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead when she received a pass from Jessica Wise and beat the helpless Coyote keeper.  Krista Mirabelli would score her 8th goal of the season with the assists going to Jasmine Maynes and Emily Lundeen.  Skyline would not generate much offense in the first half and Dobson would go into the intermission up 3-0.  Early in the second half, Brittney Smith would score the fourth goal of the evening with the assist going to Adriane Gora and Maura Chavez.  The fifth goal would belong to Senior captain Kim Demelio who would steal a ball from the Coyote defenders and blast home a shot from 30 yards out.  The final goal of the evening would belong to Jessica Wise who took a beautifully set up pass by Emily Lundeen and Samantha Gordon for the final goal of the night.  Overall the evening was a success as four of the six seniors would score a goal and five of the six would end up with at least one point on the evening.  Michelle Fawns would earn her 8th shutout of the season while Kim Demelio capped off her career at Dobson by having played every position when she played the final 8 minutes in goal.  Dobson has now finished 3rd in the East Valley Region and will host Mesa High in the first round of the East Valley Region Tournament at 6pm on Monday.

Dobson vs. Mesa  1/27/03

The Mustang's knew that tonight's contest was going to be a difficult one.  Mesa would be looking for revenge from their previous encounter just 12 days earlier.  Dobson would look to be in control early as Christine Shoffner would find Krista Mirabelli in the 11th minute streaking towards the Mesa goal.  Krista would calmly slot the ball past the keeper for the early 1-0 lead.  Dobson would generate some other chances but the Mesa keeper would prove to be very difficult to beat.  The Mustang's would come out in the second half looking to bury the Jackrabbits and move on to another state playoff game but the Mesa players would have nothing to do with these plans.  A very fortuitous goal by  Alena Ihle would give Dobson a 2-0 lead and what seemed to be the end of the match.  The Jackrabbits would battle back and gain the momentum late in the game.  A very poor call by the referee would give the Jackrabbits a penalty kick which they would convert to cut the lead to 2-1.  The two teams would battle for the final 6 minutes and with under a minute to play, Meghan Holck would tally her first goal of the season to ice the match.  Dobson now qualifies for the state playoffs which begin next Monday.  Dobson  travels to Red Mountain on Wednesday for a rematch and the chance to finish no worse than 2nd in the region tournament.

Dobson vs. Red Mountain  1/29/03

This game much like the last almost started off with the Mountain Lions scoring in the first minute.  After this minor defensive error the Mustangs woke up and played with a new passion.  Dobson would keep the Lions off the scoreboard for over a quarter of the game before a mental lapse on a Red Mountain corner kick would lead to the first goal of the game.  As the Mustangs were getting ready to make a change in their formation early in the second half, the Lions would tally their second and final goal of the match.  With the score now 2-0 and the Mustangs playing a new formation, Dobson would generate more scoring chances in the next 20 minutes then it had in the previous 140 minutes against the Lions.  Some well executed passing gave the Mustangs two terrific chances in front of the goal but the Mustangs would end up failing to convert on either of these opportunities.  Now with the 3rd seed, the Mustangs must travel to Desert Vista on Monday to hopefully avenge an earlier season loss in the Fiesta Bowl tournament.  Hopefully some of the magic of last years first round match with Desert Vista will come our way.

Dobson vs. Desert Vista  2/3/03

The magic from last year was still alive and well as the visiting Mustangs would hang a very tough loss on the Desert Vista Thunder.  This would be the second time in two years as the Mustangs would oust the Thunder from the state playoffs in the first round.  Both teams would start the match out very physically and after about five minutes it looked like the Thunder might avenge last years loss.  Dobson would hang tough and in the 23 minute after Christine Shoffner was fouled just outside the Thunder penalty area, freshman Kayla Poe would convert on the ensuing kick and give the Mustangs a much needed goal against a ranked team.  Desert Vista would keep trying to get their attack going but the Dobson defense would bend on numerous times but never broke.  Michelle Fawns would tally nine saves on the night for her 8.5 shutout of the season.  Dobson will take on Gilbert on Wednesday in round two of the state playoffs.

Dobson vs. Gilbert  2/5/03

Dobson traveled down the road to take on a very familiar foe in the Gilbert Tigers.  Gilbert had just defeated a very good Sierra Vista Buena team 1-0 and was looking for it's first win ever against the Mustangs.  Dobson was looking to get back to the state quarterfinals for the second year in a row.  Dobson would open up the scoring first on a goal by Christine Shoffner.  Although the Mustangs would score first, the Tigers began to dominate much of the first half and the last 10 minutes would see the Tigers equalize and maintain a tremendous amount of pressure on the Mustang goal.  The second half would not be very kind to the Mustangs and early on the Tigers would capitalize on a corner kick that bounced around the near post before being poked past Michelle Fawns.  Stephanie Jones was then put in goal so Michelle Fawns could come out and fill a much needed hole in the defense.  Gilbert would tally one more and the Mustangs would get a couple more looks at goal but to no avail.  Congratulations to the seniors and I hope they know just how much I will miss them.