Pirates end Devils' reign

ENGLEWOOD - With less than 5 minutes left in regulation, St. Mary's forward Julia Saenz made sure that Kent Denver would not win its third 3A girls soccer title in as many years.

Saenz headed the ball past goalkeeper Hayley Kraus for the game-winner at Englewood High School's Pirate Field on Thursday, avenging the Pirates' 3-1 loss in the 2007 state championship game.

"It was probably one of my best goals ever," Saenz said of her school record 26th of the season. "It's kind of my thing. I'm always trying to head them, but it was just great to have one go in during a game."

The No. 3 seed Pirates (15-3) advance to Saturday's 7:30 p.m. championship game against top seed Faith Christian (13-3-2) in Englewood.

The Eagles defeated No. 7 Peak to Peak (11-4-2) in the other semifinal. Faith Christian beat St. Mary's 4-2 earlier this season.

St. Mary's took control of Thursday's game early in the second half.

"They were really pressuring us in the second half, and kudos to (Saenz)," Sun Devils coach Krista Sahrbeck said. "We match up very well against St. Mary's, but it's not always tactical things that count. It was heart, and we couldn't match them."

The Pirates' attack had the No. 7 Sun Devils (12-5) on defense after halftime.

"At that point, they were really playing to possess the ball and get back to basics," Pirates coach Gregg Braha said. "Our ability to move the ball quickly was frustrating them."

As Kraus moved closer to the ball on the left side of the net, Saenz was in the best spot to head the ball toward the right side. The ball reached Saenz before Kraus could recover.

"I saw it go up, and I knew it was a money ball," said Braha before laughing. "We spend lots of time finishing balls like that in practice."

Neither team was able to break through the other's defense in the first 40 minutes. Both teams struggled to maintain possession near midfield.

The Sun Devils especially missed star sophomore forward Camille Solarte, who went down April 28 because of an ACL injury.

Solarte scored twice in the Sun Devils' 3-1 win in the state title game and scored both in a 2-1 season-opening win over St. Mary's.

The Pirates improved to 1-2-1 against Kent Denver in the past two years.

The Sun Devils had their best chance to score with about 17 minutes remaining in the first half.

Forward Erin McGonagle had a free kick deep in the Pirates' end, but St. Mary's goalkeeper Katie Loof deflected her shot up and over the goal.

"We just had to weather that momentum change," Braha said. "We knew it would come back if we were patient and kept after it."