After getting to the NIAA Class 4A Southern Nevada girls soccer championship game three years in a row, Palo Verde finally captured its first title, shutting out Green Valley, 3-0, on Feb. 18 at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex.

In a game that was billed as youth versus experience -- 12 of the 18 players on the Gators' roster were either freshman or sophomores -- it was Mother Nature that stole the show as the Panthers scored all three of their goals in the second half with gusty 20-plus mile-per-hour winds behind them.