The Gilbert Christian Knights again looked to their freshmen to deliver as the side defeated the ALA Gilbert North Eagles 2-1 in a quarter-final clash.
The defending 3A state champions were facing a confident visiting team fresh off of two playoff upsets in a row.
Midfielder Daniella Orellana picked up the hosts’ first after 20 minutes, making the most of a corner aimed at the far post to record her second tap-in of this year’s tournament.
Shaylee Earnheart followed up shortly after with a strike of her own to double the Knights’ advantage.
“I know I have a strong shot,” Earnheart said. “I knew when it came to me I was going to take it and I just got lucky and it went through her hands.”
Earlier in the week the forward had been praised by her coach, who highlighted her as an “excellent player.” That same praise was in no short supply after notching her first playoff goal.
“Shaylee is everything a coach wants,” Gilbert Christian coach Jay Feely said. “She is a hard worker. She is humble. She doesn’t know how good she is, but she does everything you ask her to. She keeps getting better every day, every game, every week.
“She’s a girl who will play in college and will be an excellent college player. She’s just going to keep getting better and better. She looks and acts like a senior as a freshman.”
Despite her age, Earnhart is well into double digits in the goal tally this season. That doesn’t mean the step up to high school has been free from difficulties.
“It can be a challenge sometimes, especially at forward you’re kind of pressured,” she said. “But Jay’s been a great coach and I’ve learned so much from him, so it’s been fun.”
That was the end of the scoring for the hosts, though, who instead saw themselves on the back foot for spells in the second half. In the last ten minutes, Mikayla Seiter’s lobbed effort brought the visitors back into the match, but their handful of chances afterwards wouldn’t prove fruitful.
“That second half was fantastic,” Eagles coach Elise Griego said. “They always find a way to pull together and just play a fantastic game. Sometimes you just don’t win them, but they owned the second half of that game so I’m super proud.”
Now, the Knights look ahead to their semi-final clash against unbeaten Northwest Christian – the top-seeded side which has scored 129 goals and conceded just six this season. Despite the opositions’ credentials, Feely said he was convinced his side is actually “the best team in the state.”
“They’ve got a really good offense, but we’ve got a really good defence, so it’ll be offense versus defence and hopefully we’ll be the ones to come out on top,” Feely said, before adding that the key to victory is “slowing them down, and not letting them score, and when we get opportunities we’ve got to finish. It’s that simple.”
The two sides will face each other at Coronado High School on Friday 19 March.
A photo album from the match is available here.