Mariners wins girls’ 3-4 Gold Division title in PKs again

For the second straight year, the Daily Pilot Cup final in the girls’ third- and fourth-grade Gold Division involved the same school in the same pressure situation.

“This is how we did it last year,” Mariners Elementary coach Brett Hlista said while his players lined up at midfield in the order they would take penalty kicks.

And just like last year, Mariners found a way to tie the match late in regulation, and then win the championship in penalty kicks.

There would be no shootout against Harbor Day without Finley Johnson’s late-match heroics.

Her dribbler from way outside the box went through the goalkeeper’s legs, evening things up at 2-2 with one minute left in regulation. Johnson sent the championship match to penalty kicks, and then it was up to goalkeeper Jayden Houston to seal things for Mariners.

Houston stopped a shot coming right at her, and Mariners repeated as the champion, winning 4-3 in penalty kicks at Jack Hammett Sports Complex on Sunday.

“I was like, ‘Wow! That was cool!’” Houston said.

Houston kept her cool in the afternoon against an attacking Harbor Day side.

Harbor Day, which featured 22 players, all fourth-graders, dominated play in the first half. The team took a 1-0 lead on Addison Riddlesperger’s goal on a corner kick in the 18^th minute.

Riddlesperger’s nickname is “Cheeseburger” and she wore it with pride. There was a hand-drawn cheeseburger on the back of her T-shirt.

Riddlesperger appeared on her way to scoring again early in the second half. Keaton Kessler found her wide open on the right side, and Riddlesperger found the back of the net, but the referee called her offside.

“It was very unfortunate,” Harbor Day coach Steve Thorp said. “It would’ve been nice if we had a [linesman], but the referee had his hands full because he had a lot of ground to cover this game.”

The referee, who spent more time following Harbor Day’s forwards and midfielders control possession, finally saw Mariners’ offense in action midway through the second half.

A ball skipped toward the far post to Harper Lohman, and she tapped it in. Mariners tied it at 1-1 in the 37^th minute.

Seven minutes later, an own goal by Mariners gave Harbor Day the lead right back.

Mariners would get its break in the 49^th minute, thanks to Johnson.

“I thought that she was going to block it, and then like it just like went in,” Johnson said. “I was so surprised it happened.”

Johnson came through right before the ref blew his whistle.

What happened next was something Mariners was used to, a shootout in the final.

Three players from last year’s Mariners championship team returned, Reese Hlista, Amelia Garza and Ella Knox. In the team’s second championship decided by a shootout, Hlista and Garza each converted their penalty kicks, giving Mariners the lead each time.

For Harbor Day, Charlie Geary and Fiona Rowe responded to tie it. Then Lohman used her left foot to put Mariners ahead 4-3.

At this point, Brett Hlista told his players that if Houston makes a save, Mariners would defend its title.

“I wanted them to know when to celebrate,” Hlista said.

The only player that did not know the situation was Houston.

“She was the best goalie in the tournament. She saved us in the semifinals and again [in the finals],” Hlista said. “[Going] back-to-back is obviously incredible, but it was a totally different year [compared to last year when we didn’t allow a goal in our first four matches]. We tied the first two games [against Mariners Christian and Lincoln this year]. We finally got a [5-0] blowout [win] in the third game [against Newport Heights].

“We were definitely the underdog to Kaiser in the semifinals, and we found a way to win it [2-1]. I think we’ve been down in all games but one, and we’ve come back.”

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Twitter: @ByDCP