SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ SOCCER PLAYOFFS : 3-A : Mater Dei Shuts Out Canyon, 1-0

As early as the beginning of practice Monday, the Canyon High School girls’ soccer team felt things falling apart.

Things finally did on Tuesday when Robyn Camarillo scored from 20 feet, 7 1/2 minutes into the second overtime to give third-ranked Mater Dei a 1-0 victory in the Southern Section 3-A semifinal match.

Mater Dei will play Santa Barbara, a 1-0 victor over Redlands, in the division final at 2 p.m. Saturday at Gahr High School in Cerritos.

Monday, second-ranked Canyon lost halfback Jackie Barragan when she pulled a muscle. Then Canyon lost midfielder Jeni Smith in the first half on Tuesday when she twisted her knee. And perhaps the most difficult loss of all came when forward Kim Campbell injured her knee five minutes into the first sudden-death period.

Campbell, who scored 36 goals this season, looked as if she might get her 37th when she twisted her knee while chasing down a long pass to the right of the goal and attempting to kick the ball into the net.

“I could see things falling apart as the game went on and when overtime started, it deteriorated,” Canyon Coach John Williams said. “The kids were beaten up and tired.”

Said Mater Dei Coach Martin Breen: “It’s very unfortunate that (Campbell) got hurt on that play, but (Mater Dei goalkeeper Julie) Tarnay’s save really got the girls going.”

Actually, Mater Dei took control of the match early in the second half.

Mater Dei was outshot, 3-2, in the first half, but came back to outshoot Canyon, 10-3, in the second half.

In the two overtime periods and two sudden-death periods, Mater Dei controlled the ball and outshot Canyon, 11-3.

“I thought that we dominated the second half,” Breen said. “During the last overtimes, we were playing our game . On the winning goal, we passed the ball five times before Katie (Ward) passed to Robyn (Camarillo for the score).”

Camarillo wasn’t counting passes, just goals. She was to the left of the goal when she made her winning shot.

“I saw the goalie in the left corner,” Camarillo said. “So I stepped up with my right foot and put it in with my left.”