Girls’ 4-A Soccer Playoffs : Mission Viejo Stays Alive on Penalty Kicks

Stephanie Cox fired home a penalty kick and goalkeeper Tamar DeFries saved another during a sudden-death shootout to give Mission Viejo High School a 4-3 victory over Torrance in a Southern Section 4-A girls’ soccer semifinal Tuesday at Torrance.

A shootout was made necessary when Mission Viejo (25-0-2) and Torrance (13-7-6) played to a scoreless tie during regulation and through two overtime periods.

Cox’s kick, a high boot past Tartar goalie Julie Chamberlain, broke a 3-3 tie after each team had taken five penalty kicks. The goal left it up to Torrance’s Monique Camou to tie the score and send the sudden-death shootout to another penalty kick, but DeFries went to her knees to bat away Camou’s shot.

The victory extended Mission Viejo’s unbeaten streak to 68 matches and put the Diablos in a position to win a fourth consecutive section championship by beating West Torrance in Friday’s 6 p.m. final at Gahr High.

Mission Viejo, which outshot the Tartars, 23-12, played the last 40 minutes a player short when Sheri Bartell was ejected midway through the second half for arguing with an official.

“It’s unfortunate the ejection happened the way it did, but the girls just lifted up their play while playing short-handed,” Mission Viejo Coach Jim Dutton said. “They showed a lot of determination and refused to give up.”

Under a CIF rule, Bartell will not play in Friday night’s game because of the ejection.