MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Gilbert (Ariz.) Tigers have officially been named to the 12th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its sixth year honoring boys soccer.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 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 Tigers ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents.
Danny Baca made sure the Tigers wouldn't suffer the same fate as a year ago when Gilbert fell 2-1 to Hamilton in the state championship contest by knocking in the game's only goal in a 1-0 triumph over Tolleson in the 2017
Arizona Conference 6A state championship contest.
The Tigers began the season with a 1-1-1 mark before taking off on a six-match winning streak and then added another 10 straight victories to end the season as state champions. Having not lost a game since the calendar turned to 2017, the Tigers posted six shutouts in those final 10 contests against some of the best teams in all of Arizona.
Gilbert opened state tournament play with a 5-0 victory over Phoenix North before running off wins over Mesa 1-0 and defending state champion Hamilton 3-3 (3-0). The 1-0 shutout of Tolleson was the first loss of the season for the runners-up as Gilbert went on to win the Tigers' first outright state soccer title in school history.
Gilbert shared a state championship with Tucson Salpointe in 2004.Sporting a 17-2-1 record for the year,
Jeff Perry's squad finished the season with a MaxPreps ranking of No. 1 in both the state of Arizona and in Conference 6A. The Tigers grabbed the No. 6 spot in MaxPreps National Rankings at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
These incredible season achievements have earned the Gilbert Tigers an invitation to the 12th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the boys soccer team, coaching staff, students and fans on Friday, Mar. 31 at a school assembly which starts at 8:23 a.m. in the gym.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
