GILBERT — It took one turn — from the left — to get Catalina Foothills into the state championship.
“At the moment it was super-intense; the whole game I was super-hyped and I just wanted to get a goal,” said junior Katelyn Kelch, whose 15-yard left-footed shot in the 72nd minute was the difference in Saturday’s Class 4A state semifinal. “I just went up there and found my shot and made it.
The fourth-seeded Falcons beat No. 1 Prescott 1-0 on Saturday at Williams Field High School to reach Tuesday’s final against No. 3 Flagstaff, which eliminated Salpointe Catholic earlier Saturday.
Also playing Tuesday: Ironwood Ridge, which beat Scottsdale Desert Mountain 5-3 in penalty kicks on Saturday after the teams played to a 1-1 draw at Higley High School. The 10th-seeded Nighthawks will take on top-seeded Queen Creek Casteel in the Class 5A state title game.
Catalina Foothills (17-4-1) had the majority of possession and quality chances against the top-seeded Badgers after the rain had stopped, putting it in place for an upset.
For Kelch, who plays defense, it was one of her few chances because she didn’t get that many touches in the attacking end.
“I was super excited and honestly, it’s kind of weird, but I tend to be a little more lucky with my left and I just took it,” she said.
The offense, led by senior forward Hannah Draper, put plenty of pressure on the Prescott defense but came away empty all afternoon. Draper headed the ball over the crossbar from short range early in the second half and had a free kick punched over the bar in the 56th minute. She even got a corner kick crossing pass from freshman Uriah Burrell right after that free kick, but it went high.
“They played gritty,” said Foothills coach Sou Torres. “Our center back, Kaitlyn Kelch, who kind of came out of nowhere, and stepped up and just really showed her leadership. I think it was a collective piece.”
But with less than eight minutes left, Foothills got a corner kick to the right of the goal, and Burrell decided to just pass it short to Kelch, who was just inside the goal box. Kelch turned and fired the shot that pierced the defense, just out of the reach of Prescott goalkeeper Lauryn Mayhan.
The Badgers kept Foothills from finding the net until the lone score of the afternoon but were stifled by the Falcons.
“They really gave us a lot of problems, they are pretty solid,” Torres said. “Super proud of this group of girls, they worked so hard to get where they are at.”
