Photos by Cherie Circe Fry – Action from Tuesday’s game at McKinleyville

The Fortuna Huskies will carry some momentum into the playoffs after a 5-2 win at McKinleyville in girls soccer on Tuesday.

The game was the league finale for both teams.

Raigan Brooks scored a hat trick in the win, as the Huskies pulled away in the second half.

Alondra Ramirez scored the opening goal of the game to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The Huskies came out with more intensity in the second half and opened up a four-goal advantage.

Brooks scored the first of her goals on a header off a nice pass from teammate Miriam Munoz-Guerrero, before adding a second on a penalty kick.

Brylee Barsanti and Allie Cox continued to impress for Fortuna and worked well together all game, setting up Taylor Brooks for their team’s fourth goal.

Taylor Brooks put constant pressure on the Mack defense all game and was rewarded for her efforts with the goal.

Raigan Brooks completed her hat trick with a late goal to end any comeback attempts after senior Leah Circe had netted twice for the Panthers.

Afterwards, Fortuna head coach Arnulfo Aguirre paid tribute to the Mack players for never relenting.

“It’s essential to commend Mack for never giving up, even when trailing 4-0,” he said. “They intensified their efforts and earned two well-deserved goals.”

The game was delayed 40 minutes because of a mix-up in scheduling officials, and that resulted in a slow start for both teams.

It was also senior night for the Panthers, who honored their five seniors before the game.

All five — Circe, Lacie Rink, Liz Mengel, Caitlyn Canepa and Raquel Jones — left their mark on the team.

“We lost a lot of seniors last year and they stepped up with a new coach and played well,” first-year head coach Brady Burtchett said of the five. “They never gave up and they were good leaders and good representatives for our team.”

Both teams will find out their North Coast Section playoff seeds and first-round opponents when the brackets are released this weekend.

The section tournament kicks off next week.