SUNSET SOCCER: Gorman girls hold off Bonanza

Bishop Gorman girls soccer coach Doug Borgel figured his team would need three goals to ensure a victory Wednesday.

His prediction turned out to be perfectly accurate.

Kaila Brinkman scored on a free kick with 10 minutes remaining, and the Gaels hung on to beat Bonanza 3-2 in the Sunset Region semifinal at Heritage Park.

The win lifted Gorman (15-0) into the championship game, where the Gaels will play Arbor View (13-1-4) at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“We all talked after the game about how big that goal was,” Borgel said. “Kaila has been money on that shot all season.”

Gorman controlled the pace in the first half, but failed to capitalize on early opportunities when a pair of open shots caromed off the crossbar. Brinkman scored from 10 yards out on an assist from Daisy Cabrera in the 26th minute to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead, which they took into halftime.

Cabrera extended Gorman’s lead to 2-0 early in the second half, firing into an open net from close range.

Then things nearly fell apart for the Gaels.

The Bengals (8-5-2) answered 11 minutes later when Jessica Piazza fired one in from the left side to make it 2-1.

“We didn’t finish them off,” Borgel said. “We sort of left them in the game. A two-goal lead is dangerous. We worked to get that third goal, but they kept pressing.”

The Gaels got a break when Brinkman was awarded a free kick with 10 minutes remaining. She put it in the net to give her team a 3-1 lead.

“We got one back there,” Borgel said. “I felt that if we could get that third goal, it would be enough.”

It was barely enough, as Ashley Alonzo-Bonilla scored from 20 yards out with three minutes remaining to cut the Bengals’ deficit to 3-2. A flurry of desperation attempts by Bonanza failed to produce a goal in the final minutes.

“We played Bonanza twice this year,” said Borgel, whose team won both regular-season contests. “They were both competitive games. They just never quit.”

Arbor View 4, Shadow Ridge 0 — Vanessa Lourenco scored two goals to help the Aggies roll past the Mustangs (9-8-3).

Lourenco gave Arbor View a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when she scored from the left side on a shot that was tipped by Shadow Ridge goalkeeper Dallas Gunny. Breanna Larkin extended the lead to 2-0 when she lobbed a 35-yard shot just over Gunny’s outstretched hands.

The Aggies missed on several opportunities in the second half before getting goals from Bailee Davis and Lourenco.

Goalkeeper Kylee Wallace earned the shutout for Arbor View.