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La Cañada girls’ soccer strikes late to top Valley Christian

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LA CAÑADA — Charlotte Tapp saw a group of defenders closing in and looked to do something quickly.

The versatile La Cañada High girls’ junior soccer player got the result she wanted and kept the surging Spartans’ playoff run alive.

Tapp scored with 19 minutes left in the second half to propel host La Cañada to a 1-0 win against Valley Christian on Tuesday in a CIF Southern Section Division IV second-round match.

La Cañada (12-6-5) will meet visiting Ventura in a quarterfinal match at 5 p.m. Friday. It marked the first time the Spartans, who opened the playoffs with a 1-0 overtime win against Temescal Canyon, have advanced to the quarterfinals since 2014.

Tapp took a throw-in from Sidney Hwang and got off a shot inside the right post while guarded by three Valley Christian defenders in the 61st minute.

“That was a great throw-in by Sidney right into the box,” Tapp said. “I just found an open space in time and got off a shot. It’s exciting to be able to win these close playoff games and we want to continue it.

“You feel like you can win the close games and we’ve played in a lot of them throughout the season. You can always feel the intensity.”

La Cañada suffered a 1-0 loss against Valley Christian (22-4) on Jan. 12.

La Cañada generated plenty of quality scoring opportunities against Valley Christian, which finished first in the Olympic League. It included a 25-yard shot by Tapp that just went over the crossbar in the 50th minute.

“We liked the way we were playing,” said Spartans coach Kevin Neumeier, whose team improved 5-0-2 in its last seven matches. “It’s playoff time and you try to play for a 1-0 win and not get too crazy.

“It’s just about putting in the effort and not having any regrets. That was a great throw-in right into the box and it’s a question of who wants it? Charlotte stepped up and got off a great shot to win it. We have a lot of seniors on the team and they’ve been through it before.”

charles.rich@latimes.com

Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich

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