Sophomore forward Katie Johnson had two goals and an assist, while Koemans also had two scores in propelling the Tologs to a dominating 4-0 win against Desert Christian at the Glendale Sports Complex that punched Sacred Heart’s ticket to the regional title game.
“It’s a tribute to what the girls have done all season,” said Sacred Heart co-Coach Frank Pace, whose team recorded its 15th shutout of the season. “We’re excited about where our hard work has gotten us.”
It has put the Tologs (21-1-4) into Friday’s final at 5 p.m. at Warren High in Downey, where they will take on San Diego Section champion Francis Parker, which defeated Central Valley Christian, 3-1.
“We’re really excited,” said Tologs co-Coach Kathy Desmond, whose team came up a point short of the Mission League title despite an unbeaten league campaign and fell in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division II tournament on penalty kicks. “I think the girls deserve to play in a championship game. We let two slip through our hands this year.”
Nothing slipped by the Tologs on Wednesday, though, as they grabbed a 3-0 lead in a 12-minute span in the first half. While Desert Christian (23-2-1), the reigning regional champion, was clearly a more worthy adversary than Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies was on Monday in a 7-0 Tologs win, Sacred Heart flexed its muscle and put the game away early.
“I think it’s the same mentality, just to finish our shots the first time,” said Johnson, who opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Koemans worked a ball up to Lauren Torres, who then played it to the middle, where it deflected off a Knights player to Johnson, who wasted no time in putting it in the back of the net.
Johnson now has nine goals and six assists in six postseason games. Nonetheless, she said nothing has changed about her approach between the lines.
