No. 2 Salpointe beat No. 3 Walden Grove 2-0 Tuesday night at home to advance to the 4A Conference where the Lancers will face No. 1 Prescott Saturday morning at 10 a.m.in the state final to be played at Mesa Mountain View. Prescott beat No. 4 Cactus Shadows 2-1 in overtime in the other semifinal match.

Salpointe (11-3-1 in ranking games) has played in the state championship match nine of the last ten years going and the last five in a row including this season. The Lancers have won six championships since 2017 and 10 overall with current head coach Kelly Pierce guiding the team to five championships as a coach and two as a player in 1998 and 1999.

Prescott (13-2-1) lost to Salpointe 2-0 in the 2021 state final under current head coach Paul Campuzano, who started with the Badgers in 2016. Prescott made it to the 4A quarterfinal round last year and Salpointe lost to Walden Grove 3-1 in the championship match after the Lancers beat the Red Wolves in the final 2-1 in 2023.

The intense rivalry between Salpointe and Walden Grove continued Tuesday night after Salpointe and Walden Grove tied 0-0 at Salpointe on Jan. 27 in a 4A Kino Region match and then Salpointe beat Walden Grove 1-0 in the first round of the Open Division at home on Feb. 11. As a No. 16 seed in the Open, the Lancers barely lost to No. 1 Casteel 2-1 in the second round and Casteel will be playing Xavier Prep in the Open Division championship Saturday at Mesa High School.

The loss sent the Lancers back to the 4A brackets where the team beat No. 15 ALA-Queen Creek 8-0, No. 7 Coconino 2-0 to set up the semifinal match with Walden Grove and Walden Grove beat No. 14 Flagstaff 4-1 and No. 11 Saguaro 4-0.

Unofficially, the Lancers came up with 15 shots on Walden Grove Tuesday night with Emma Cazares scoring on a penalty in the 27th and again the 50th on a header off of a corner offering from Emma Veliz. The Red Wolves recorded three shots on goal but a score in the first half was negated by an offsides call.

Prescott beat No. 8 Eastmark 2-0 in the quarterfinals after earning a first-round bye and then the Badgers pulled off the 2-1 overtime win over Cactus Shadows with a goal with 5:53 remaining in the second overtime period.