The Ironwood Eagles played a much better soccer game Wednesday than they did Tuesday. At the end of the night, their bid to repeat as champions in the Ridge Cup, ended in a shootout loss to Brophy following a game that was tied at 2 after regulation. With the win, the Broncos (3-0) advanced to today's semifinal at Mountain Ridge. They will play in a 6 p.m. match against the Keeper Bracket champion, either Deer Valley or Tolleson (undetermined at Thursday's press time). The 4 p.m. semifinal pits Westview (3-0), the Bracket Striker winner, against the Sweeper Bracket winner (Centennial, Sandra Day O'Connor, Peoria or Horizon), which was also undetermined as of press time Thursday. On Tuesday, a day after opening the Ridge Cup with a 10-0 victory over Boulder Creek, Ironwood had its hands full with a pesky Copper Canyon team playing 70 minutes of scoreless soccer before netting the game's only goal. "If we play like that against Brophy, we'll get embarrassed," Ironwood coach Tim Beck predicted following Tuesday's win. "That's a class program and our guys understand that it will take our best to beat them. I'm comfortable that we'll come out and play much better." On Tuesday, a lackluster first half by the Eagles, left Ironwood needing a David Folsom save on a Marco Vasquez penalty kick less than four minutes into the game simply to keep the game scoreless in the first half. "That wasn't Ironwood soccer in the first half," senior Will Wilson said. "At halftime, we had to let the young guys know that we don't lose on our field." With the history lesson imparted, the second half started with the Eagles establishing control. In the first minute, sophomore Miguel Romero took in a pass from Wilson and found himself in a 1-on-1 situation with the Copper Canyon keeper who came charging out and knocked Romero to the ground before he could get off a shot, a ruling that surprised Romero. "(The referee) said I dived and that I'd get carded if I did it again," Romero said. Undeterred, the Ironwood offense continued to turn up the heat as freshman Corey Christ put a pair of strong shots on net and had a third bang off of the goalpost in the first nine minutes of the second half. Two minutes later he would receive a corner kick from Romero and get off another solid attempt that was deflected. "We're still making the adjustments with all the new players, but there's a lot of talent on this team," Wilson said. While the Eagles were keeping the ball in Copper Canyon's end, they struggled to get on the scoreboard. "We were more aggressive in the second half, but when you haven't scored you sometimes start to get a little nervous," Romero said. With the clock dipping under 20 minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles appeared as though they would break on top. Wilson set the lightning-quick Romero up with a pass about 30 yards out from the goal line. Romero drove closer to the net and once again, the result was a collision with the keeper. This time, the referee signaled a yellow card to Romero forcing him to the sidelines momentarily. With Copper Canyon struggling to mount any type of attack, the Eagles pressure would crack the visitors. The game-winner started with Copper Canyon attempting to clear a corner kick from Romero. Ironwood was able to keep the ball in their opponent's end. From outside the 18-yard box in the far right corner, Wilson launched a centering pass that found Romero, who sent the ball into the right corner of the net at the 9:40 mark. "I knew I didn't have much time, because there was a lot of traffic around me, but I got the ball to the ground and then put a good shot on it and it went in," the sophomore said. Other than a red card on Copper Canyon's Hector Garcia with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the visitors went quietly without a solid scoring chance in the game's closing minute. Saturday's games, which also are at Mountain Ridge, include a 1 p.m. consolation game and the championship match at 3 p.m.