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Redemption came on a cold and rainy December day for the Ironwood Ridge soccer team.

The Ironwood girls beat Yuma Cibola 4-2 Tuesday in the final of the Tucson Champions Cup, and with the win, the young and upstart Nighthawks erased the memory of a loss in the final of the same tournament a year ago.

"We had 11 seniors last year that walked away disappointed," Ironwood coach Sean Watkins said. "This year, we have eight freshmen on our roster and four seniors, and they are walking away with a victory.

"It's sweet for everybody," he said.

It was raining at kickoff, but the weather did not stop Ironwood from taking an early advantage.

In the second minute, Michelle Busse controlled a pass from Abbey Barbera just inside the box, and the Ironwood freshman ripped a shot that curved to the far post and just out of the reach of Cibola goalkeeper Carly Davis.

Ironwood controlled the next 20 minutes, then added another goal in the 22nd.

Sara McIntosh took a short touch on a corner kick from a teammate and dribbled past the Cibola defense. She then drilled a shot from the outside of her foot for Ironwood's second goal.

It seemed like Ironwood was going to cruise to a first-place finish with a 2-0 lead.

But Cibola still had some fight, mostly behind the play of senior captain Iztel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez scored a phenomenal goal in the final two minutes of the half when she launched a high-arching shot from about 30 yards that sailed just under the cross bar and out of the reach of Ironwood goalkeeper Brooke Seavitt.

The final rush by Cibola tied the game at 2.

Watkins said his team's game plan at the half revolved around shutting down Rodriguez, who played a big role in both of the Raiders' goals.

In the second half, Ironwood did just that. Seemingly every time Rodriguez got a foot on the ball, there were two or three Nighthawks defenders on her.

The defense, led by Christina Farrell, did not let up, and eventually Ironwood was able to capitalize on one of the few scoring opportunities of the second half.

In the 69th minute, Busse recorded her second goal of the game, and the definitive effort in Ironwood's championship victory.

"That was kind of like I was in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time kind of goal," Busse said. "I hit it perfectly, and the keeper didn't see it coming."

Three minutes later, Camie Barbera locked up the championship for the Nighthawks when she a broke away from the defense, then beat Davis with a perfectly timed chip shot.