IRVINE — It was another second-half playoff comeback.
It was another nailbiter decided by penalty kicks against a familiar foe.
But for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy soccer team, another round in the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs was not to be.
Having rallied to tie the match with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, second-seeded Sacred Heart rebounded against third-seeded Beckman to play inspired soccer over the final 60 minutes of the match, but it was one settled by the fate of penalty kicks and one in which the Patriots prevailed against the Tologs, 2-2 (4-3) on Tuesday night at Irvine High in the Division II semifinals.
“It was a great game,” said Flintridge Sacred Heart co-Coach Frank Pace, whose team was making the program’s first-ever semifinal appearance. “It comes down to PKs and it’s the luck of the draw.”
And Beckman Coach Stacy Colon drew on freshman goalkeeper Kori Decker to replace Jessica Miller, who had played all of regulation and overtime and garnered nine saves. It proved to be a worthy gamble, as Decker stopped shots by Jillian Jacobs and Savannah Viola, who had booted in the winning penalty kick when the Tologs had bested the Patriots, 1-1 (6-5) earlier this season in the Los Tacos Tournament final.
“Kori Decker is very confident with penalty kicks,” Colon said. “She sort of asked for it and she got it.”
Sacred Heart’s Alyssa Conti and Haley Mojica followed the save of Jacobs’ attempt with goals made, though Mojica’s was stopped only to roll past the goalline. Breeanna Koemans also converted for the Tologs before Sacred Heart goalie Dominique Oro came up clutch with a save of her own against Beckman’s Jaci Brown. But Decker saved Viola’s attempt, setting the stage for Camryn Jun to go low right and lead the Patriots into the championship game against Harvard-Westlake later this week.
Hence, the Tologs end their run having gone 2-0-2 against the two teams in the championship match.
“It was the equivalent of a championship game,” Pace said. “[Co-Coach] Kathy [Desmond] and I told the kids they’re champions. You’ve got two teams in the CIF finals that we’re unbeaten against in four tries.”
