After the immediate euphoria of winning a second consecutive 5A Division I soccer championship subsided, a realization set in. Tempe Corona del Sol may not stop at two.

The Aztecs’ 2-0 victory against their friends from Phoenix Desert Vista at Arizona State Friday night was the last competition this season.

But this may not be the last time these two Central Region schools see each other in February. Both teams only had three seniors who played their finale Friday, which seemed to help Desert Vista — if only slightly — numb the pain of “what-if” following Friday’s loss.

As for the Aztecs …

“We want to keep repeating,” striker Brittany Cole said. “It feels good every time.”

Unlike last year’s victory against Phoenix Mountain Pointe, Corona didn’t need overtimes, but much like last year’s title match, Cole was the difference-maker.

The Aztecs (23-3-2) and Thunder (19-6-3) played to a draw for the first 70 minutes, but Cole, Corona’s all-time points leader as a junior, broke through when Alexa Daiutolo fed her on a cross-field pass. Cole’s header went straight up to herself, and she was able to wait for the ball to come down before ripping a shot into the net’s corner.

Lexie Schroeder gave the Aztecs a cushion with three minutes left when her shot deflected into the right corner, and when starting goalie Hailey Hayes left the game after a collision, junior backup Nicole Burt made two saves in the final two minutes.

“They lived up to the pressure,” Corona coach Matt Smith said. “There’s nothing like it.

“Plus, I hadn’t written a 'What if we lose,’ speech.”

Both sides were coming off emotional, wacky wins in the state semifinals.

Consequently, first-year Desert Vista coach Paul Manoogian felt a self-imposed burden on behalf of players like Dannon DiGangi, one of those three seniors who missed all of last season with injuries.

“I think I let my girls down tonight,” Manoogian said. “I exerted so much energy (Tuesday night), I felt jittery and it didn’t help. But give Corona all the credit for making things happen when they had to.

“We’ll be in the upper echelon again. So will Corona.”

Oddly enough, Smith pointed to a Mountain Pointe loss exactly one month prior to Friday as their helper.

The Aztecs lost 3-0 to the Pride, and Smith heard chants of “We’re No. 1” coming from Mountain Pointe’s fans.

“We didn’t let that bother us,” Cole said. “We ignored it and kept going. The final game is what really counts.” Friday, Corona’s side of the stadium chanted, “Repeat.”