Coronado, Faith Lutheran advance to 5A girls soccer title game — PHOTOS
Emily McKinney isn’t primarily a goal scorer for Coronado’s girls soccer team. But the junior midfielder found her scoring touch Wednesday to send the Cougars to the state championship game.
McKinney scored two goals within a minute to break a scoreless tie in the first half of a Class 5A state semifinal at Valley High, pushing No. 1-seeded Coronado to a 3-0 win over No. 4 Centennial.
Coronado (18-1-1) will play No. 2 Faith Lutheran — a 4-0 winner over No. 6 Shadow Ridge in the other semifinal — at noon Saturday at Valley for the 5A state title.
“It’s the beginning of playoffs (for us), so it was a little shaky at first, but it was good to get out here and calm our nerves,” Coronado coach Dana Neel said. “(McKinney) was huge for us tonight and that’s the momentum of the game. We took the momentum early because of those goals.”
Coronado and Faith Lutheran have combined to win the last five state titles in the top classification. Faith Lutheran (17-2) is the defending state champion. The teams split their two regular-season meetings this year and both games were decided by one goal.
“I’m looking forward to it. … It’s always a close game between us,” Faith Lutheran coach Carl Cort said. “It’s going to boil down to which team could hold their nerves on the day. We’ve been here. They have, too. It’ll be a battle of wits.”
Cougars strike early
Coronado and Faith Lutheran both had byes and didn’t play for almost two weeks. The Cougars had several scoring chances in the first 15 minutes Wednesday, but couldn’t break through until McKinney found the back of the net.
First, Ryan Neel’s corner kick found McKinney a few yards in front of the goal. McKinney’s right-foot shot gave Coronado a 1-0 lead with 25:20 on the clock. Then McKinney, who had three goals entering Wednesday, intercepted a Centennial pass and her shot from almost 30 yards out gave the Cougars a two-goal lead about 40 seconds later.
“It’s always important to jump out in front and that’s something we had talked about all week with her,” Dana Neel said. “It’s good to see as we work on things for them to come through and do those things.”
Coronado sophomore goalie Lilian Foss stood tall as Centennial (9-7-1) tried to threaten late in the first half. Foss blocked a shot and made a save on an ensuing corner kick. The Bulldogs had another prime scoring chance a few minutes before halftime, but Mia Carper’s shot from a few yards in front of Foss went over the goal.
Foss finished with four saves for Coronado. Cate Gusick added a second-half goal on a shot from almost 50 yards out, as she sprinted from the Cougars’ side of the field to try and keep possession away from Centennial.
“(Foss’s) confidence has grown this season and she’s learned what she’s capable of,” Neel said. “Tonight, you got to see, she had a few big saves. That’s all her confidence. She has the skill and her confidence is coming through now.”
Crusaders pull away
UC Irvine commit Olivia Stark got Faith Lutheran on the board 15 minutes into the first half. She scored on a shot from 20 yards out following a Crusaders’ corner kick to put her team ahead 1-0 at halftime.
The floodgates opened in the second half for Faith Lutheran. Julia Anfinson scored off a pass from Elliott Lujan nine minutes into the second half. Sidney Drinkard and Kloe Abdalla also scored for the Crusaders after the break.
“We’ve always looked extremely strong and overpower teams in the later stages of the game,” Cort said. “I knew that it was just a matter of time as long as we stayed disciplined and we kept the ball for a large portion of the possession.”
Goalkeeper Olivia Petty made three saves to shut out Shadow Ridge (5-10-3).
“Today was more of a case of just getting the job done,” Cort said. “We spoke to the girls that this is the part of the season where it’s about getting a result. At the same time, we want to put in a good performance, but the result is the main thing.”
Faith Lutheran and Coronado played in the state title game every year from 2019 to 2023. Faith Lutheran, which defeated Liberty in overtime for the 2024 title, won twice (2019 and 2022) and Coronado won twice (2021 and 2023). All four games were decided by one goal.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
