Photos by Cherie Fry Circe – The McKinleyville girls at Middletown on Saturday night.

The McKinleyville girls set up a rematch with a familiar foe on Saturday after a 2-0 win at Middletown in the North Coast Section Division-1 soccer playoffs.

The Panthers will now play top seed Eureka in the semifinals at Albee Stadium on Wednesday night at 7, with a place in the weekend championship game up for grabs.

The No. 5 seeded Mack girls know they will face a difficult task trying to knock off the section frontrunners, but they also know they’re capable of an upset after pushing the Loggers closer than most teams in a 3-2 loss earlier in the season.

It took a late Lorena Hernandes goal to win the game for Eureka, and the two goals were the most the Loggers have allowed all season.

“We’ve just got to be prepared,” McKinleyville head coach Adam Canepa said. “It’s going to be a challenge, we know that. We just have to come ready to play.”

The Panthers opened the postseason with a strong showing against the Mustangs, particularly in midfield.

Senior Soffia Reyes, who has been outstanding all season long, carried that form into the playoffs and scored both goals.

She set herself up for the first after winning possession, and took advantage a well-weighted through ball from teammate Mary Ann Som by slipping past the goalkeeper and tapping home for the second.

Som, who is enjoying a breakout sophomore season, also had a good game in the middle of the field, alongside Reyes and Junior Elizabeth Mengel.

Juniors Lucy Turner and Raquell Jones both also played well on the outside, as the Panthers controlled the tempo across midfield.

“We played great,” Canepa said. “I felt like we controlled the game for the most part.

“My entire midfield played really well and just controlled the game.”

The win was the third straight for the Panthers, who closed out the regular season with impressive back-to-back wins over Arcata and Fortuna.

Eureka, however, will be heavily favored on Wednesday after beating Mack in all three meetings this season, including 5-0 and 6-0 victories.

Soffia Reyes