SUNSET REGION: Sophomore’s sneaky shot sends Centennial past Aggies for title

Centennial’s girls soccer team had been frustrated offensively for 70 minutes Tuesday.

All it took was one shot from a defender playing forward in her first year of high school competition to bring the Bulldogs from frustration to bliss.

Sophomore Jasmine Freeman scored from just inside 18 yards out in the 72nd minute to give Centennial a 1-0 win over rival Arbor View in the Sunset Region title match at Bettye Wilson Park.

“I knew it was good. I had a feeling in my heart that it was in,” Freeman said.

Teammates and coaches figured Freeman, who had entered the match as a substitute only minutes earlier, would cross the ball to midfielder Siena Drizin, who had a chance to score.

But Freeman sent an open shot from the far right side of the box into the upper left corner of the net, just past outstretched Arbor View goalkeeper Kyla Salazar’s reach.

“I was getting ready to yell at 'Jas’ for not crossing the ball, but it went in,” Centennial defender Faith Johannes. “I’m so glad that she got that goal for us. We kept on having chance after chance at it, so when she put it in, it felt amazing.”

Centennial (17-3-1) claimed its third region title in the past four years after losing 3-0 to Arbor View in last year’s semifinals.

The Bulldogs advanced to meet Sunrise Region champion Green Valley (16-6-1) in the Southern Nevada final at 4 p.m. Thursday at Bettye Wilson Park.

“I’ve never coached high school before, so for me, coming from 14 years of club soccer, I’ve never had a feeling like this,” Centennial coach Jeremy Gill said. “It means so much to these players.”

Salazar had six saves for Arbor View (15-3-2), which fell one win short of a chance to defend its Southern Nevada title.

Centennial goalkeeper Natalie Gilbertson made four saves, including one seemingly out of nowhere on a high volley from Arbor View forward Falon Miller midway through the second half.

“At first it was frustrating because we couldn’t score,” Gilbertson said. “It was the worst thing to watch from the goal box, but I knew we could put it in (because) we had so many chances.”

Gilbertson made six saves in a semifinal against Palo Verde last week, won by the Bulldogs 4-2 on penalty kicks.

“For my money, there’s no better big-game keeper than Natalie,” Gill said. “There’s just not, and my other keeper (Emily Murzinski) is good, too. In these intense games, there’s no comparison.”

Now the Bulldogs will play for their third Southern Nevada championship in the past four years.

“Three rings out of four years would be really nice to go out on top,” said Johannes, who has signed with UNLV. “Junior year we lost, and I never want to feel that again. We rallied for this win as a team, and that’s what won the game for us.”