Las Vegas Wildcats named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard

MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the Las Vegas (Nev.) Wildcats have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its eighth year honoring soccer.

This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For soccer, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 34,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Wildcats ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!

In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Coronado 5-1 in the NIAA Class 4A state championship contest on Saturday, November 10 marked the completion of an incredible 21-1-1 season — and earned Las Vegas an invitation to the Tour of Champions.

Sergio Aguayo scored three quick second half goals after the Wildcats opened up a 1-0 halftime advantage, allowing Las Vegas High School to claim its first boys state soccer title since going back-to-back in 2008 and 2009 at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex in Las Vegas. Aguayo scored the hat trick despite being carted off of the field and taken to the hospital during Las Vegas' 4-0 semifinal win over Durango on the eve of the championship match.

Daniel` Rangel scored the only goal of the opening half before Aguayo headed in a pair of Rangel assists in the 48th and 50th minutes. Rangel then scored his second goal of the contest in the 55th minute before Aguayo finished off his hat trick a minute later. Coronado scored its lone goal in the 52nd minute, adding to a flurry of five goals over nine minutes of the second half between the two finalists. Besides Aguayo's hat trick and the two goals and two assists from Rangel, Nathan Zamora chipped in with a pair of assists. Rodolfo Gomez was credited with eight saves in goal.



Las Vegas opened postseason play with an 8-0 shutout of Arbor View before upending Palo Verde 3-1. Then, following a 2-0 win over Eldorado, the Wildcats kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 3-0 triumph over Coronado in the Southern Nevada Championship game. Las Vegas bumped Durango from state championship contention with the 4-0 win to set up the championship bout with Coronado, who took care of Spanish Springs 2-1 to secure its second game in five days against the Wildcats. Rafa Mitjans' club opened the season with a 6-0 blanking of Del Sol. Then, following a 5-1 win over Foothill, the Wildcats upended Green Valley 8-5 to start the season 3-0. Las Vegas strung together seven more wins before settling for a 1-1 draw with Bonanza and falling to Cimarron-Memorial in back-to-back contests to drop to 10-1-1 on the year. The Wildcats did not lose again and outscored its competition 102-24. Las Vegas posted 10 shutouts and held 18 foes to one goal or less, while scoring a season-high nine goals in a win over Cheyenne.

Having won 11 straight contests to end the year, the Wildcats set themselves up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only is Las Vegas ranked the No. 1 team in MaxPreps' Nevada Class 4A Rankings, the Wildcats are the best club in all of Nevada. Las Vegas is ranked No. 22 in MaxPreps' National Rankings!

These incredible season achievements have earned the Las Vegas Wildcats an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium for a pep rally as we celebrate with the boys soccer team, coaching staff, students and fans on Monday, February 25 at 1:10 p.m.

For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.