Girls Soccer: Lucy Gutierrez lifts Curie into semifinals

Updated: May 5, 2012 4:41PM

Lucy Gutierrez had only the moment to react. She made the right decision.

The Curie freshman controlled a loose ball and blasted in a short shot that gave the Condors a dramatic 1-0 double overtime victory over Northside in a Public League quarterfinal Saturday at Rockne Stadium.

Curie advances to meet two-time defending city champion Lane Tuesday. Playing in the Premier division for the first time in school history, the Condors qualified for their first semifinal appearance.

Gutierrez’s score came with less than a minute to play in the second overtime.

“I knew we didn’t have a lot of time, and I just had to make the shot,” Gutierrez said. Junior Jacquelyn Rivera initiated the game-winning score on a free kick that the Condors’ Sintia Salas and Diana Madrigal directed in the box.

“A girl from their team tried to get the ball, but she couldn’t and I felt another girl grabbing my shirt and I just kicked it with my left foot,” Gutierrez said.

Northside (7-11) dominated possession time in the first half. Junior Azucena Carabez made several superb saves to thwart the Mustangs’ early scoring opportunities. “I try to anticipate where the ball is going,” she said.

“I talked a lot with our defenders, and I also do a lot to challenge shots, either jumping around or clapping.”

In the second half, Curie (10-5-2) was the aggressor. “That’s been the story of our season,” Curie coach Leon Kim said. “We’ve been a second half team the whole year.”

The Condors finally wore the Mustangs out. Rivera had a couple of prime scoring chances that led to the Condors’ breakthrough.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Northside coach Robert Albritton said. “We dominated the first half but they dominated the second half.”

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