Faith Lutheran girls soccer defeats Coronado, faces Liberty for title

It appeared Faith Lutheran and Coronado’s girls soccer teams were heading for another close playoff game when the Cougars scored midway through the second half to cut the deficit to one.

But the Crusaders made sure the match wouldn’t get any closer, capitalizing on some late scoring chances to knock out the defending state champions.

Julia Anfinson scored twice in the final 10 minutes, and Faith Lutheran, the Southern League’s No. 1 seed, defeated No. 5 Coronado 4-1 in a Class 5A state semifinal Friday at Coronado.

The Crusaders (16-1-5) will face No. 3 Liberty at 10 a.m. Saturday at Coronado for the state title. The Patriots defeated No. 2 Bishop Gorman 3-0 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw through double overtime in the other state semifinal at Cimarron-Memorial.

Faith Lutheran and Coronado had faced off in the past four state title games in the top classification, with the Crusaders winning in 2019 and 2022 and the Cougars prevailing in 2021 and last season.

Faith Lutheran coach Carl Cort praised his team for powering to the victory Friday.

“They were fantastic,” he said. “Energywise, we knew that as long as we were up for it, we would be able to match (Coronado). The game kind of planned out as I expected. We took ahold of the game, was able to pass the ball around and stick to what we’ve done throughout the whole season.”

Faith Lutheran led 2-0 at halftime, but Coronado (13-7-2) got on the board in the 55th minute on an Asia Moises header.

Then Anfinson helped the Crusaders put the game away. The sophomore striker scored in the 73rd minute on a shot nearly 20 yards out that sneaked its way underneath the top crossbar.

She added another goal in the 75th minute when Coronado goalie Emma Duda and defender Ella Schultz collided going for the ball and Anfinson tapped the ball into an open goal.

“On the attacking side, that’s one of our strengths,” Cort said. “We’ve got multiple players to score many goals, and different players have this season. That’s been our edge.”

Oliva Stark scored twice in the first half for Faith Lutheran. She struck in the 13th minute from nearly 25 yards out and added another goal in the 22nd minute on a free kick from 20 yards out.

“It’s definitely what we were looking for,” Stark said of the early goals. “We were looking for early goals to kind of set that temp, but we knew we couldn’t relax after that. We showed our character and how we’re able to bounce back even after we conceded (a goal).”

Faith Lutheran and Liberty played to a pair of draws in the regular season, 2-2 on Aug. 26 and 1-1 on Sept. 25.

“What we’re doing so far is better than everybody else because we finished top of the (standings),” Cort said. “We are where we are right now for a reason. We just have to keep doing what we do, and there’s no reason to change anything.”

— No. 3 Liberty 0, No. 2 Bishop Gorman 0, 2OT (3-0 SO): At Cimarron-Memorial, Liberty (10-1-7) won a penalty shootout 3-0 following a scoreless draw in double overtime to eliminate the Gaels (16-5-1) in the other state semifinal.

Liberty goalie Brooke Kramer recorded the shutout and made two saves during the penalty shootout. Ayva Jordan, Natalie Collins and Kaimi Wills scored for the Patriots in the shootout.

Class 4A

— No. 1S Centennial 3, No. 2N McQueen 0: At Cimarron-Memorial, Centennial (22-0) scored three times in the first half, and the Bulldogs, the Southern League champion and No. 1 seed, defeated McQueen (11-11-2), the North’s No. 2 seed, in a 4A state semifinal to keep their perfect season alive.

Centennial will play Northern champion and No. 1-seeded Galena (18-3-3) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Cimarron-Memorial for the state title. Galena defeated Doral Academy (17-6-1), the South’s No. 2 seed, 3-2 in overtime in the other semifinal.

Natalie Sligar scored her 47th early in the first half for Centennial, and Julianne Donnelly and Alexandra Miranda later added goals.

Class 3A

— No. 1N South Tahoe 2, No. 2S SLAM Academy 0: At Dayton, South Tahoe (18-2-2), the Northern champion, blanked SLAM Academy (13-5-1, the South’s No. 2 seed, in a 3A state semifinal.

South Tahoe will face North No. 2 seed Truckee (22-4-1) — a 2-1 winner over Southern champion and No. 1 seeded Equipo Academy (25-4-2) in the other semifinal — at 10 a.m. Saturday at Dayton for the state title.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.