A pair of Division-I North Coast Section girls soccer semifinals went right down to the wire on Friday night, as the Eureka Loggers advanced to yet another championship showdown.
The Eureka girls welcomed league rival Fortuna to Albee Stadium and both teams were deadlocked 2-2 after regulation and overtime, forcing a penalty shootout to separate them.
And it was the host Loggers who prevailed 5-4, sending the No. 2 seeds on to next week’s championship game.
In the other semifinal, No. 5 St. Bernard’s traveled to Lake County to take on a top-seeded Kelseyville team that was riding a 21-game unbeaten streak and had not lost since opening day.
And the Crusaders gave the Knights all they could handle, before falling 2-1 in overtime to end their season.
The Eureka girls, who won four consecutive NCS titles from 2021 to 2024, will play for a sixth all-time section crown at Kelseyville on Wednesday night at 7.
But it took everything they had to get past the Huskies on Friday night, with goalkeeper Peyton Graney rising to the occasion in a pressure-filled penalty shootout.
“Peyton Graney did amazing under the pressure,” Eureka head coach Melaina Valdez said of the junior shot stopper, who got a hand on four of the six Fortuna PKs.
Ella Moxon, Elliot Banducci, Lola Distefano, Olivia Millender and Braeyln Frank all scored from the spot for the Loggers, while Graney made a save on Fortuna’s fourth PK.
“In a crazy high-pressure game the girls showed up and showed out,” Valdez said. “I’m incredibly proud of the way they played.
“I’m proud of the way they battled through the physicality. I feel it was their best game they’ve played as a team.”
The Loggers utilized a new-look formation that they had worked on in practice this week and it paid dividends, with Frank opening the scoring on a long-range shot that sailed over the keeper’s head to give the home team a one-goal lead at the break.
“We put some people in different positions to what they’ve played throughout the season,” Valdez said. “The high pressure allowed for us to play incredibly dominant during the first half.”
Moxon would score Eureka’s second goal, but the Huskies outscored the home team 2-1 over the final 40 minutes to leave them deadlocked at the end of regulation.
“The girls battled through an incredibly physical and possessive game from both sides,” Valdez said.
Senior right outside back Maddie Van Vleck had a big night for the hosts and rose to the occasion in her team’s biggest game of the season.
“We’re looking forward to the next game,” Valdez said. “We’re looking forward to being in the championship We’re looking forward to ending the season on the highest note.”
No scoring details were immediately available for Fortuna.
At Kelseyville, meanwhile, a memorable season ended for the Crusaders by the narrowest of margins.
But they went down battling.
A St. Bernard’s defense that was missing two starters for much of the game and had a third battling illness persevered and held the high-flying top seeds to their lowest scoring tally in a month.
“Everybody stepped up big when they had to,” St. Bernard’s head coach Brandon Amis said.
Seniors CJ Figas and Malia Masayos closed out their high school careers with another strong performance and combined for their team’s only goal of the game, with Figas scoring and Masayos assisting.
An effective defensive game plan that was executed to near perfection for much of the night limited the opportunities for the hosts, who are more comfortable running directly at the defense but were forced out wide.
However, they would get the breakthrough from what Amis described as a “beautifully-placed corner kick” late in the first half.
But that was the only goal a resilient SB defense would allow in regulation, despite missing impressive freshman Paloma Granados for the game and influential senior Carli Baum for most of the second half after she picked up a knock.
In their place, the always-reliable Chloe Grunden and freshman Vivian Shanahan stepped in alongside Emilym Wilson and Paula Bullock, and the unit combined with sure-handed goalkeeper Kaitlyn Amis to keep the high-scoring Knights at bay for the second half.
Offensively the Crusaders also created better chances in the second half, tying the game on Figas’ goal and winning a penalty kick late in the game that they were unfortunately unable to covert.
Freshman Kinley Johnson also enjoyed a good night up front and “made a bunch of good runs,” according to the coach.
Senior Sariah Vainuku also had a good day to cap a tenacious season for the influential midfielder.
Despite the loss, it was a successful campaign for the team, which won this year’s Redwood League championship with a game to spare.
And it was a good first season in charge of the team for Brandon Amis, who slotted right in.
“The team welcomed me and the freshmen class, especially the seniors, with open arms,” the coach said. “Any time you deal with a new coach, there’s always resistance, and this team never gave me any resistance, and above all they love each other.”
With a stellar freshmen class — including Johnson, Wilson, Granados and Kate Bailey, among others — all of whom gained valuable experience this fall, the Crusaders should be a handful for the rest of the H-DNL for the foreseeable future.
