SUNRISE REGION: Imahara’s goal vaults Green Valley past Skyhawks

Green Valley girls soccer coach Roy Snyder said Cayla Imahara always seems to come through when the Gators need a goal.

So Snyder wasn’t surprised Thursday when the senior midfielder helped send Green Valley to another Sunrise Region final.

Imahara scored from the top of the 18-yard box off an assist from Jordyn Penniman in the 14th minute, and Green Valley held on for a 1-0 victory over Silverado in a region semifinal at Heritage Park.

“When the ball is sent across, and (Imahara) finishes them, she is outstanding in that respect,” Snyder said. “When she gets the opportunity for a goal, she usually finishes it.

“She had a couple other chances that normally she finishes. She was a little bit sick today and was kind of out of it, but she still had some great shots. She’s huge for us.”

The Gators (16-0-1) advanced to meet rival Coronado (10-6-2) in the region final at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Green Valley dominated possession, but needed Imahara’s goal to make up for several missed scoring opportunities against the Skyhawks (9-6-1).

“I saw (Penniman) go up the line, and I knew I was open,” Imahara said. “I took the chance, and all I could think about was getting the ball in the back of the net.

“It was really important for us to get that goal in the first half.”

Snyder credited defender Nicole Westover, a senior committed to UNLV, with leading the Gators.

“It’s great to advance. Our defensive effort again was outstanding,” Snyder said. “Nicole Westover is, for my money, the best player we have and the best defensive player we have in this town.”

Senior goalkeeper Nicole Dunn helped Imahara’s goal stand up with a four-save shutout.

Though glad to advance, Snyder wanted to see his team finish more scoring chances.

“Hopefully we play a little more inspired soccer on Saturday and come away with another one,” he said. “We left a lot of opportunities on the field. Quite frankly, we didn’t play well; we were flat, we lacked energy. But I give it to the kids (because) they made the big play when they had to, and Nicole Westover in the back is just phenomenal.”

Green Valley earned the chance to play for its third straight region title. The Gators defeated Coronado 2-0 in last year’s region final.

“It was a great win, a great feeling. They made us work for it,” Imahara said.

Coronado 4, Foothill 0 — Britni Ballweg scored twice in the first half, and Breanna McCallum and Chynna Zurflueh added second-half goals as the Cougars eliminated the Falcons (8-6-2) in the other semifinal.

“Senior year, it’s awesome,” Ballweg said. “I’m so excited, I’m speechless. It’s just a good feeling.”

Ballweg scored on a free kick in the sixth minute, then scored on a header off a corner kick from Zurflueh in the 26th minute.

“She’s one of those players that when you put the ball on her head, she’ll put it in for us,” Coronado coach Dana Neel said of Ballweg.

McCallum scored in the 47th minute, and Zurflueh scored on an assist from Kathleen Cuevas in the 59th to cap the scoring.

Coronado goalkeeper Melanie Frank posted a six-save shutout.

“It feels great,” Neel said. “It’s what we set out to do from the beginning. It took us a while to progress into these multiple-goal scoring games, and here we are putting it together at the right time.”