They waited over a year through a miserable and often lonely pandemic, what’s another 15 minutes and a few PKs.
After a 0-0 standoff between No. 1-seed Cathedral Catholic and No. 3 San Pasqual, junior goalie Brady Bachman made two spectacular saves during OT penalty kicks as the Dons won that session 4-1 to lift them to the San Diego Section Open Division title on Friday at Mission Bay.
“It’s a great feeling,” Bachman said. “Doing it with all these guys is so special.”
Seniors Harrison Balke, Joe Montali and Mahoney Finn all tallied on their PKs before junior Stefano Brunetto snuck a low shot into the left corner for the winner.
“It’s great to go through the ups and downs of a whole season and come out on top,” Montali said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
Cathedral’s last section title came in a 3-0 win over San Pasqual in 2016.
Liam Dugnian converted the Eagles’ first PK, but three straight misses sealed the outcome.
Cathedral (11-3-2) and San Pasqual (13-3-3) both qualified for the Southern California Regionals (along with third-place St. Augustine) that begin on Tuesday.
The Eagles played most of the second half and OT short a player after Victor Valle received his second yellow card for grabbing a jersey on a potential Cathedral breakaway.
“We were a bit nervous throughout the game,” said coach Nate Hetherington, who earned his third section banner as the Dons coach. “I don’t think we played our best game.
“For them to play down a man for most of the second half was amazing they held on like they did.”
Said Eagles coach John Burson, “It was tough. We had to get through PKs in the semifinals, and I think they studied our tendencies. The keeper made some great saves.”
San Pasqual keeper Tanner Wrzeski kept this one a mystery.
Cathedral had far more opportunities, especially in the second half, like a 22-yard high screamer off the foot of Montali in the 44th minute. In maximum leap and stretch, Wrzeski punched it over the goal. Two minutes later, Wrzeski punched another save over after a corner mayhem scramble.
In the 70th minute, recent sub Robert Ronco narrowly missed an open goal on a push from 15 yards.
Open Division girls soccer
La Costa Canyon 2, Torrey Pines 0: The No. 3 Mavericks (13-2-4) beat No. 4 Torrey Pines (11-4-5) for the third time this season, this one to claim the section Open Division championship.
Peyton Galli created the first goal in the 15th minute, deflecting a risky clear by goalie Shayna Ross behind Ross and two defenders and then corralling the loose ball and easily tapping it into the net. Midway through the second half, senior Kaitlyn Farley headed in a corner kick from freshman defender Annie Dehaan.
It was the 10th section title for the Mavericks but first since consecutive crowns in 2015 and ’14. The Falcons own the record with 18 championships. Both play in the SoCal Regionals on Tuesday, along with third-place Cathedral Catholic (12-2-4).
Lindgren is a freelance writer.
