Alexa Daiutolo’s 20-yard penalty kick early in the second half was all Tempe Corona del Sol needed to capture a 1-0 win over 5A Central Region rival Phoenix Desert Vista in the championship game of the girls Tempe Diablos Soccer Classic Friday at the Tempe Sports Complex.

Daiutolo’s kick sailed perfectly over Thunder goalie Lauren Mitchell’s head and just under the crossbar at the 53-minute mark, and then the Aztecs (6-1) held off a spirited offensive attack to hand Desert Vista (7-1) its first loss this season.

“It is always tough to play Desert Vista, because we know each other so well and they play us toe-to-toe in so many games,” Corona del Sol coach Matt Smith said. “A credit to them; we could never seem to get into a stride and we never really got into our game. It came down to who would make the one shot.”

After Daiutolo’s goal, Desert Vista only allowed the Aztecs one more shot on goal for the remainder of the contest.

The rest of the game produced six solid shots on goal from the Thunder, including one from senior Kara Miller, who had a similar shot as Daiutolo’s, but her kick bounced just off the top of the goal post.

The first and second halves of the game were identical: Corona del Sol came out for the first fifteen minutes of both and kept hammering at the Thunder, getting 12 of their 14 shots on goal for the game in those segments.

Corona goalie Hailey Hayes finished with 10 saves.

However, the second part of each half was controlled by the Thunder, although they could never quite get through the Aztec defense.

“It was a fun game with two great teams,” Desert Vista coach Paul Manoogian said. “We had our chances, we created chances. Corona got to take advantage of one of theirs, we didn’t get one with ours.”

Both coaches said that, even in the early season, both teams have been pitted against some tough competition.

“We’ve already played region rivals Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista, we’ll see both of them twice in regional play, and we’ll probably see each other in some form in the playoffs,” Smith said.

“I think it is safe to say that three or four teams out of our region are easily among the best in the state.”