“I told the girls at halftime that this would be a game they would remember for the rest of their lives,” said assistant coach Davy Phillips. “I thought the work rate was good in the first half and we needed to find some support off of Alix Schiraldi, and that’s exactly what happened.”
In the 63rd minute Alix Schiraldi broke free from two defenders and sent a ball in deep to a streaking Ashley Ukena, who finished with a strike into the left side of the net to give Baker the 1-0 lead.
Heading down the stretch, Maggie Dupes stole the show making three more key saves, one of which came in the final 50 seconds on a shot that deflected off Dupes and hit the crossbar before Skylar Baker cleared the ball for a Baker victory.
“The girls knew it would be tough because of the conditions,” Phillips added. “It was a total team effort and the entire team battled through the elements.”
Fourth-seeded Martin Methodist (14-2-2) outshot the Wildcats 14-7 overall in the contest, but the game was even at 6-6 in shots on goal.
Baker returns to action on Nov. 30 and will face the winner of No. 5 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) vs Westmont (Calif.) set to be played on Nov. 29 at 4 p.m.
View the full box score here.
View game highlights here.
