GILBERT, Ariz. — Notre Dame Prep shut down the Arcadia High School Titans and their leading scorer, Kalena Teufel, in overtime during the state semifinals at Campo Verde High School on Thursday.

 

The game went to two 10-minute overtimes after Notre Dame Prep’s Luciana Garcia-Reifkohl tied the game 1-1 off a corner kick with five minutes left in the second half. Garcia-Reifkohl then scored early in the first 10-minute overtime, leading her team to a 2-1 victory over the fourth ranked Titans.

 

The Titans led the entire second half, after an early goal scored by senior captain Teufel, until the last five minutes of regular play when the Saints got going. Garcia-Reifkohl kept the pressure on Arcadia's defense and goalkeeper for the rest of the game.

 

Saints coach Tom White applauded the leadership of his seniors and their ability to come back from a deficit.

 

“We have 14 seniors and usually start 10, so their leadership has been a huge part of our team’s success,” White said. “Even when we get down 1-0, the girls are able to respond really well.”

 

After Arcadia’s first goal, White worried that the game would have the same outcome as last year’s heartbreaking semifinal, penalty-kick defeat.

 

“I thought it was going to be a mirror image of last year when we played Arcadia in the semis and we outshot them and still didn’t get the win,” White said. “The pressure has been on the girls during playoffs and they didn’t let it get to them this year.”

 

The Saints came into the day's playoff soccer game as the top seed in 5A and did not let the underdogs of Arcadia strip them of another shot at a state title.

 

Adam Zweiback, head coach of the Titans, said he was proud of the fight and heart his team played with, but commended Notre Dame’s speed and athleticism, especially that of Garcia-Reifkohl.

 

“Notre Dame came in with a tremendous amount of energy after our first goal and I thought our girls did well fighting them off, but the Saints have a lot of depth and that really helps them in a long game like this,” Zweiback said. “Sometimes you just have to congratulate them, I mean, we were four-and-a-half minutes from beating them.”

 

White said goal of his team’s game was to come out strong with their set-play corner kicks and stop the fast feet of Arcadia’s Teufel.

 

Teufel has played a pivotal role in Arcadia’s success, scoring her 29th goal of the season during Thursday's game. Zweiback said Teufel is the heart and soul of his team and has been the best offensive player he’s ever coached.

 

“Kalena got her 99th goal as a high school player tonight and she played a phenomenal game,” Zweiback said. “Every time she had the ball she was double- and triple-teamed and she created space and scored anyways. She and Dominique Ballard have started every game for four years and we will miss them a lot next year.”

 

Teufel will play at the University of San Francisco and star defender on the Titans, Dominique Ballard, will play at Arizona State next fall.

 

Teufel said they worked on defending the Saints' set plays during the week leading up to the game, but were unable to stop their face-paced offense.

 

“They kept running us and attacking us, they never gave up, they kept pushing and they never let their energy drop," Teufel said. “We had good energy going into the game and we had nothing to lose so we just went out there and played our hearts out, but they’re a great team.”

 

The Saints will play in the state finals against the winner of the game between No. 2 Ironwood Ridge and No. 3 Chaparral on Saturday at 4 p.m.