Danny Karmin is a Master’s Student at ASU Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Camelback High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX – Camelback entered Monday’s night playing its final home game at Camelback Stadium. The stands were packed 45 minutes before kickoff to celebrate the boys’ senior night. The sounds of screaming and cowbells filled the air as each player saluted the crowd. 

Those cheers evaporated over time as Camelback was shut out by the Carl Hayden Falcons, 3-0. The Spartans hung with the Falcons up until the second half, when Carl Hayden scored three goals to win.

The Spartans wanted to build off the momentum of the packed stadium and to deliver a win against a fellow 5A Metro conference foe. The Spartans are currently ranked No. 23 and the Falcons are ranked No. 16 in the 5A rankings.

Camelback started the game slowly as Carl Hayden held the majority of the possessions and created chance after chance against Spartan Junior goalkeeper Angel Gayosso.

Luckily for Camelback, Gayosso was on his game early. He made several stops, including on an opposing breakaway where he sprinted out for a loose ball and deflected it away from the Falcons incoming player who was alone on a quick rush. 

The offense for Camelback struggled to counterattack across midfield. The Falcons midfielders and fullbacks were all positionally sound and did not allow any room for error.

Sophomore midfielder Ab Mapula took the first shot on goal for Camelback at the 26th minute. Mapula sprinted up the left side of the field firing a shot at the upper corner that deflected off the fingertips of Falcons senior goalkeeper Luis Osorio. 

That shot by Mapula seemed to give the Spartans some life, as they started to generate more offense in the Falcon zone.

Despite Camelback's constant presence in Carl Hayden's half of the pitch, nothing fruitful came of it. The first half ended with no score from either side.

Camelback Stadium celebrates senior night with a banner representing the eight seniors on the team. (Danny Karmin photo/AZPreps365)

Camelback opened up the second half on its heels as Carl Hayden exerted pressure in the Camelback defensive zone.

Carl Hayden senior forward Nelson Gomez was creating offense not only for himself but for his teammates.

In a span of seven minutes, Gomez took two shots that hit the crossbar and fed multiple teammates for prime scoring opportunities. All were thwarted away by Gayosso.

Camelback senior midfielder Kevin Valenzuela Montana had the best chance of the second half. Montana was awarded a free direct kick from the left side that just dribbled wide of the right post.

Minutes later Carl Hayden drove the ball outside on the wing of the Camelback defenders. Junior striker Jonathan Escalante was unmarked by a Camelback defender and received a pass in the slot from Gomez. Escalante powered the ball into the center of the net to break the scoreless tie. Carl Hayden had the game's first lead at the 61-minute mark.

Escalante’s goal woke up the Carl Hayden goal scorers as the Falcons scored another two goals in the final 19 minutes for the win.

Camelback coach Brad Mallmann was proud of the way his team held the Falcons in check in the first half but disappointed in how his team performed in the second half. “It always seems to be like one little mistake and then we're [Camelback] down a goal chasing the game,” Mallmann said. “We're very close, we're just not quite there yet, it's a tough loss especially for our seniors.”

Several Camelback seniors left the field emotional and in shock that this was their final home game at Camelback Stadium. One of those seniors was defender Leo Herrera Castaneda. “It was really unfortunate that the game didn’t go our way but I am proud of my teammates,” Castaneda said. “This is a memorable night for me even though we lost.”

Castaneda knows how good of a team the Spartans are and the effort it takes to beat them. Camelback fired off four shots on goal in the second half and did not have many prime scoring opportunities.

"They [Carl Hayden] have always been a top team that has won state like three times in a row,” Castaneda said. “So really, we went in there with a little bit of fear, but my boys showed up there. We just made some little mistakes and it cost us.”

Carl Hayden's superb defense and timely goal scoring were the deciding factors as Camelback never seemed to find its offensive rhythm and struggled to create sustained offensive zone time.

Despite the loss, Mallmann believes playing a strong team in Carl Hayden can be beneficial to the future of the team.

“We have a relatively young team, a lot of sophomores,” Mallmann said. “It's good for them to get that experience and to have that feeling of playing a team that's going to make a long run I am sure in the playoffs.”

With the loss, Camelback have lost two in a row for the first since December 14th. Monday's defeat marked the first time the Spartans had been held scoreless since December 6th, a span of 11 games.

Camelback (4-5) will next travel to Metro Tech High School on Friday for its penultimate game of the season against the Knights (0-5-2) at 6 p.m.