SUNSET REGION: Larkin, Aggies avoid repeat
Breanna Larkin had little desire to see history repeat itself at Heritage Park Thursday.
Nearly a year ago to the day, Larkin’s Arbor View squad was eliminated from the postseason by Bishop Gorman in a semifinal match that ended on penalty kicks.
The sophomore made sure Thursday night’s results against the Gaels were much more favorable.
With the aid of Larkin’s two goals, the top-seeded Aggies (12-4) outlasted Gorman, 3-2, to move into the Sunset Region championship game.
Arbor View will square off against Centennial at 4 p.m. Saturday in the final
“It feels great,” Larkin said. “We just kept fighting. We didn’t give up. That’s all that matters. And we put them away.”
Freshman Bailee Davis ignited Larkin’s efforts in the 26th minute, sending a long pass to the right side of the box. Larkin, in a full squat, headed the ball past Gaels goalkeeper Jessica Anaya.
“Bailee took a touch and looked up,” Aggies coach Jay Howard said. “When she does that, she’s pretty deadly. She played a beautiful ball right in the middle and the nice thing is that Bree came across the goalie’s face and headed it in.”
Eight minutes later, Davis was the catalyst once again. Her free kick from just outside the box was blocked by Anaya, but Larkin collected the rebound and served it into the back of the net.
“Bailee has that big foot and we put her on the right and Bree plays a lot of right because she is just fearless with her body,” Howard said. “We’ve scored a lot of goals that way with those two this year.”
Gorman (9-4) cut the deficit to 2-1 when Yolanda Loya tapped in a goal in the 47th minute.
Just when the Gaels thought a comeback was in the works, Jamie Wilson gave Arbor View a bit of breathing room in the 67th minute, booting a shot from the left side of the box for the score.
“That was huge, huge for us,” Howard said. “I felt like we were in control, but if you’re not scoring, you’re not scoring. Soccer’s a game that you can be in control and still have things go bad.”
Katie Turner trimmed the margin to 3-2 for the Gaels in the 77th minute, but by then it was too late.
Centennial 4, Palo Verde 0 — Shannelle McDonnell persevered through an injured left ankle to knock in two first-half goals as the top-seeded Bulldogs (15-2) ousted the Panthers for the second consecutive year.
“(My ankle) is throbbing, but we played our hearts out and gave it our all,” McDonnell said.
McDonnell found the back of the net twice in an eight-minute span midway through the first half. In the 29th minute, Samantha McLaughlin sent a perfectly placed cross to the senior at the top of the box, and McDonnell slipped through two defenders before lacing a shot into the right side of the goal.
McDonnell added to the lead in the 37th minute on a pass from senior Paris Gonzales, chipping the ball into the net past the diving Palo Verde goalkeeper and giving Centennial a 2-0 halftime advantage.
“We like to pass and play and create space for each other,” Bulldogs coach Jay Jenne said. “It’s very important to communicate and play as a team”
Gonzales tacked on a goal early in the second half, and located freshman Cienna Mendez in the 54th minute, who tapped in the final blow, beating the Palo Verde keeper inside the box.
“The girls really stepped up,” said Jenne, whose team defeated Palo Verde 4-1 in last year’s Sunset Region semifinal. “They’d much rather be playing at 4 o’clock on Saturday then watching from the sidelines.”
Charlotte Madrid and Karlee Edwards combined on the shutout for Centennial, which extended its winning streak to 12 matches.
