Cape Central and St. Vincent to meet in district semifinal

Cape Central's Celeste Gutierrez kicks the ball during the May 11. game between the Tigers and North County.

Photo Courtesy of Carrie Trovillion - Freelance Photographer

On Saturday afternoon, the Cape Central and St. Vincent girls soccer teams defeated their round opponents in the Class 3 District 1 Tournament at Cape Central High School.

The Tigers defeated North County 4-0 and the Indians defeated Farmington 9-2, setting up a rematch from the first game of the season when Cape Central defeated St. Vincent 5-1.

Cape Central's Averie Huff fights through a defender during the May 11. game between the Tigers and North County.

Cape Central got things going early against North County, scoring two goals in the first five minutes off the feet of seniors Celeste Gutierrez and Madison Phelps.

The seniors continued to lead the way for the Tigers with Gutierrez adding another in the 42nd minute, and Averie Huff adding an insurance goal in the 76th minute.

Cape Central's Brennan Beard runs toward the ball during the May 11. game between the Tigers and North County.

Cape Central head coach Duncan McKinley said he was happy with the way his team came out and took it to the opponent right away.

“Going into these district games, the first 10 minutes are the most important in setting the tone early. succeeding in the beginning of the first half and second half gives you the strength to work through the half,” McKinley said. “We try to start every game that way and it doesn't always work, but either scoring or not conceding in the first 10 minutes has been a big plan of ours in every game that we've played in.”

St. Vincent's Lana Adams waits on the ball during the May 11. game between the Indians and Farmington.

St. Vincent did not come out as fast against Farmington, taking about 15 minutes to score, but still looked just as strong offensively as the Tigers. Sophomore Lana Adams broke through for the Indians in the 14th minute to take the 1-0 lead.

Adams’ day did not stop there as she went on to put up four goals for her team. Another sophomore, Rylee Robinson, put up two goals for the Indians while senior Cailyn Prost added the remaining three goals for St. Vincent.

St. Vincent's Cailyn Prost kicks the ball during the May 11. game between the Indians and Farmington.

Indians head coach Cari Barnes said she was impressed with the way her team, especially the offense, performed.

“I thought we played a really good game. We moved the ball well and we finished well, it was a pretty physical game,” Barnes said. “I’m very pleased, we've struggled a little bit this season with creating offense and I thought we did that really well today, so I was proud of the girls for that. I just hope we can take that moving forward and then into the next round.”

The Tigers and Indians will face off in the Class 3 District 1 semi-final on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. at Cape Central High School. Both coaches agreed their teams look a lot different from the first game of the season so they are both excited to see how things go in this rematch.