Gators to play for Nor Cal title

The Gators, the No. 2 seed in the Division I bracket, knocked off No. 3 Miramonte-Orinda, 9-8, a game that saw the Gators rally from a 4-2 halftime deficit.

“That’s the first time we played intense for an entire match,” said SHP’s Bella Bachler, who scored a team-leading on a match-leading 12 shots.

But Bachler was so much more. She also added three assists and came up with three steals defensively.

Annabel Facey added a pair of goals, while Alexandra Szczerba, Ella Woodhead, Eleanor Facey, Brienz Lang all scored once for the Gators.

“The last time we played them, it was a really competitive game,” said SHP head coach Jamie Frank. “ I think our girls didn’t play perfect … but to get a win proves they’re really scrappy.”

SHP (26-3) will face top-seeded Acalanes-Lafayette (21-0) in the championship match at 3:40 p.m. Saturday at Independence High School in San Jose. The Dons beat No. 4 Davis 12-3 in the other semifinal.

Down 4-2 at halftime, the Gators turned up the pressure on both ends of the pool in the second half. They came up with a steal on Miramonte’s first possession of the third quarter and transitioned that into a fastbreak goal from Woodhead, who took a long outlet pass from Annabel Facey.

Annabel Facey’s goal two minutes later from the right point off a Bachler assist tied the match at 4.

The SHP defense kept the Matadors scoreless in the third period, setting up a wild fourth quarter during which the teams combined for nine goals. The Gators won the sprint to start the period, maintaining the power play they picked up late in the third quarter.

The Gators capitalized, with Bachler giving them their first lead of the match, 5-4, scoring from the left point off a pass from Annabel Facey.

Miramonte tied the score a little more than 30 seconds later, but Bachler gave the lead back to the Gators with a sidearm shot from the right wing at the 4:54 mark.

The Gators pushed their lead to two goals when Annabel Facey scored off a Bachler assist on the left wing. But back-to-back goals from the Matadors tied the score at 7-all with 1:45 left.

Eleanor Facey, who was double- and triple-teamed in the hole set all match long, finally connected on a blind backhand shot to put the Gators up 8-7 with 1:18 remaining.

Szczerba scored what turned out to be the winning goal with 32 seconds left, putting SHP up 9-7 with 32 seconds left on a shot from the left wing.

It turned out to be an important goal as the Matadors pulled one back with 12 seconds to play, but the Gators managed to run out the clock.

“Our energy changed (in the second half),” Frank said. “[The players] rallied around each other.”

The Gators trailed most of the first half, despite getting on the scoreboard first a little more than two minutes into the match. Eleanor Facey drew a 5-meter penalty shot, which Bachler fired home for a 1-0 lead.

SHP spent the rest of the opening period peppering the Matadors’ goal, firing off nine of its 27 shot in the first quarter, but goaltender Lindsey Lucas denied the Gators at every turn.

Meanwhile, the Matadors offense managed to punch in two goals to lead 2-1 after one period.

“I got frustrated,” Bachler said. “But [Woodhead] said, ‘Keep shooting.’”

Miramonte went up 3-1 when Sally Fellner scored on a power play at the 6:21 mark. But Lang, who has just come into the game, walked in from the left wing and hammered home a shot to close the Gators’ deficit to 3-2 with 3:34 left in the first half.

The Matadors pushed their lead back to two goals with under two minutes left in the second period to lead 4-2 at halftime.

“To have the mistakes we did … and be within two goals at halftime (was good),” Frank said.