Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer regroups for overtime win in first round of CIF playoffs
A whirlwind of emotions quickly engulfed the Flintridge Prep girls’ soccer team.
Flintridge Prep saw a lead evaporate in the waning seconds of regulation time, forcing it to regroup in its quest to win a second CIF championship in three seasons.
The Rebels got what they needed pretty quickly in overtime.
Flintridge Prep received the winning goal from Chayse Lim-Ying six minutes into overtime to lift top-seeded Flintridge Prep to a 3-2 victory against Santa Barbara on Thursday in a CIF Southern Section Division III first-round match at the Glendale Sports Complex.
The Rebels (22-1-1) will meet Quartz Hill at home in a second-round match Saturday at a time and place to be determined.
Lim-Ying, a freshman midfielder, took a cross from Natalie Brown and lofted a shot past Santa Barbara goalkeeper Lia Rodriguez (six saves) from about 30 yards out. She was then mobbed by her teammates near midfield.
“I was really scared because I thought the shot might hit the crossbar,” Lim-Ying said. “I turned a way a little bit after I shot the ball and then my teammates came running to me.
“Going into overtime, it’s going to come down to some kind of a shot. We gave up that goal late in the second half and we had to regroup quickly.”
Santa Barbara (10-8-6) tied the score at 2 with a few seconds left in stoppage time on a goal by Sofia Capelletti. who put the ball past goalkeeper Molly Scott.
Flintridge Prep, which won the Prep League championship, held a pair of one-goal leads which Santa Barbara erased.
“It’s the last play of regulation and they get a goal,” said Brown, a senior defender. “We talked before overtime about wanting it more and we were able to get it done.
“I saw Chayse there to make the pass. As soon as it left her foot, I knew the ball would go in the net.”
The Rebels took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Brown received a pass from Sage Shurman and launched a shot that struck just below the crossbar and bounced over the goal line.
The Dons, who took third in the Channel League before recording a 3-0 wild-card home win against Westlake on Tuesday, tied it at 1 on a goal by Kasla Wolf in the 33rd minute.
Flintridge Prep grabbed a 2-1 advantage on a goal by junior Mckenna Dominguez with about four minutes left in the second half. It was Dominguez’s 104th career goal.
Flintridge Prep competed without starting goalkeeper Ana Bozzi McKay, who was ill. Scott, normally a defender, finished with four saves.
Flintridge Prep coach Esteban Chavez said the Rebels were able to control their emotions heading into overtime.
“It’s not a good feeling when you give up a late goal,” said Chavez, who led the Rebels to a Division III championship in 2018. “But, it’s about how do you shake it off?
“Santa Barbara felt good and had the momentum going into overtime. Santa Barbara made it difficult by playing physical and playing good defense on the long ball. As soon as Chayse hit the ball, you could see it would go in and that came on an off-balance shot, too.”
