Forty-nine seconds in, AWC's women were already winning. Next Saturday they play for more, at home.

Forty-nine seconds.

That's how long it took Arizona Western College's women's soccer team to score in Saturday night's Region I championship. At a lot of games, 49 seconds in, people are still finding their seats.

Abril Aguirre put it in off an assist from Kanon Ozaki, and the Matadors went on to beat Eastern Arizona College 2-1 at Matador Field, KYMA reported. Region champions, on their home field, on Halloween, still without a loss this season.

How it went

AWC took that 1-0 lead into halftime and held it for most of the night. In the 84th minute, Giovana Coutinho, the team's leading scorer, added a second goal on her own, unassisted.

Eastern Arizona answered less than two minutes later. That made for a few long final minutes at Matador Field, the kind where a two-goal cushion has just become one. The Matadors held on.

Goalkeeper Victoria Yuna made four saves, and Ariana Peraza was named Region I Most Valuable Player, according to KYMA.

The win puts the Matadors at 14-0-2, and they came into the final ranked No. 1 in the country in NJCAA Division I, KYMA reported. Eastern Arizona was ranked eighth.

Getting the title back

The scoreline doesn't show the part I like best.

A year ago, this team lost the Region I championship. The team that beat them was Cochise College. And who did AWC draw in this year's semifinal? Cochise.

The Matadors won that one 1-0 at home, KYMA reported. The goal came in the 13th minute: freshman Momoka Kimura played a give-and-go with Riko Horie and fired a shot into the top of the net. The defense handled the rest.

KYMA's sportscast headline said AWC's women "reclaim" the Region I title. That's the right word. They took it back, and they went through the team that took it from them to do it.

None of this is new territory for the program. In the 2024 season, AWC women's soccer won Region I, won the West District and made it all the way to the national championship game, where it lost 2-1 in overtime, according to the college. That staff was led by coaches from Yuma.

What's next, and where

Next up is the West District Final against Salt Lake Community College, Saturday, Nov. 7, at Matador Field. When KYMA reported it Saturday night, the kickoff time hadn't been set.

Salt Lake is a familiar name too. AWC beat Salt Lake 2-0 for the West District title in 2023, according to AWC Athletics. The college says the two teams met again in the 2024 district final, and AWC won that one too.

The men are busy as well. Arizona Western's men's soccer team is also one win from a Region I championship. They beat Mohave College 2-1 in the semifinals and host Eastern Arizona in the title game this Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. MST, KYMA reported. It's the men's first trip back to the Region I final since 2024.

So, two home soccer games with titles on the line in five days, and the weather has finally cooled off enough to sit outside in the evening. Yuma doesn't get that combination every week.

For game times, tickets and live stats, check AWC Athletics.

Sources

• KYMA (Moses Femino), Matadors women's soccer captures Region I title, Oct. 31, 2026.
• KYMA, NBC 11 Sports: AWC women's soccer reclaim Region I title, Oct. 31, 2026.
• KYMA, Arizona Western women's soccer returns to Region 1 championship, Oct. 30, 2026.
• KYMA, Arizona Western men's soccer returns to Region I Final with win over Mohave, Oct. 27, 2026.
• Arizona Western College Athletics, Women's Soccer coaching staff earns USC West Region Staff of the Year honor.
• Arizona Western College Athletics, 2023-24 Women's Soccer News.
• Arizona Western College Athletics, 2025-26 Women's Soccer Schedule.

Featured image: "Soccer Ball" by USARJ NCO Corps via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped. Illustrative; not from Saturday's game.