By Don Ketchum

In soccer, it is inevitable that a shootout is going to come along, so you have to be ready for it.

The girls team from Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep is prepared for such a contingency.

Every day, just after conditioning and before the close of practice, the Saints practice shootouts, both offensively and defensively.

“That’s when the shootouts happen, at the end (of overtime), when everybody is tired,’’ said Notre Dame coach Scot Bemis.

It paid off on Wednesday night (Feb. 9), when Notre Dame scored a 2-1 victory over Phoenix Arcadia in a Class 4A Division II semifinal match at Phoenix Paradise Valley, earning a 3-1 advantage in kicks.

Notre Dame got goals from Alex Teran and Taylor Reisdorf before Maddie Reisdorf booted home the decisive shot. Rachel Ditullio scored on Arcadia’s first shot, but the Titans were kept off the board after that, missing one shot wide right and having the other two stopped by Saints keeper Taylor Mogel.

Notre Dame remained unbeaten at 21-0 and advances to Friday’s (Feb. 11) championship game at Gilbert Campo Verde High (5 p.m.). The Saints will play Flagstaff, which defeated Cottonwood Mingus 1-0 in the other semifinal on Wednesday night in Sedona.

Bemis had a feeling that the semifinal would be close, a nail-biter similar to the match against Arcadia earlier in the season, which Notre Dame also won in a shootout.

“You see the (tournament) bracket and you can kind of tell what is going to happen,’’ Bemis said.

Arcadia (13-5-1) got the quick jump on the Saints on Wednesday as Annie Sherman scored in the third minute of the first half, finishing off a sequence that began as a corner kick by Chandler Broadrick. It was only the second time that Notre Dame had trailed all season. The first was against Gilbert Williams Field.

Notre Dame was having difficulty finding the right spots to place the ball, but tied it at 1 with 6:34 left in the half on a long, lofting free kick by Caqdie Naquin from about 35 yards out. The ball drifted enough and dropped just over the goalkeeper’s head.

The second half was a defensive battle. Neither team had many opportunities, although Notre Dame kept the ball in Arcadia’s side of the field much of the time.

Bemis gave credit to Arcadia’s defense.

“They play great defense,’’ he said. “We had to keep being patient.’’

The defensive trend continued into overtime.

Then the shootout, when Mogel was at her best.

“She’s a player, a great competitor. There’s a reason why she has a full ride (scholarship) to Kentucky,’’ Bemis said.