Coahulla Creek sophomore Breana Munguia provided an early glimpse of what was to come early in Monday’s GHSA Class AA soccer quarterfinal match against Region 7 rival Sonoraville.
Moments after drawing a foul for a strong challenge on a ball in Sonoraville’s final third, she opened the flood gates for the Lady Colts as the attacking midfielder made a brilliant turn around a defender in the right side of the box to put the Phoenix keeper in a difficult situation as she simply dribbled the ball into the back middle of the net.
Munguia’s opening score in the 21st minute jump started a dominant 4-0 home victory Monday as Coahulla Creek punched its ticket to the Final Four for the second consecutive season.
“Breana is so aggressive and plays so hard,” Lady Colts head coach Shannon Coley said. “The energy she plays with is infectious. She works so well in the middle whenever she is on the ball or passing the ball. She leads the team in assists (18). She can not only score but also dish the ball out to help her teammates.
“This offseason, she wrestled for the school. She is just gritty, and it shows in everything that she does. When she is out here playing, she’s fun to watch.”
Coahulla Creek crusies to GHSA Class 2A Final Four with 4-0 home win over Sonoraville
Coahulla Creek (18-4), which will face another Region 7 rival, Union County, in the semifinals, kept the pedal to the metal as senior striker Jannie Estrada scored back-to-back goals in the 32nd and 37th minutes to build a 3-0 halftime lead.
Estrada powered in a 30-yard free kick from the right hash for her first score, which was too powerful for the keeper to handle at the front right side of the net. Five minutes later, she landed a first-half brace on a strong run down the left side where she corralled a loose ball and boomed it into the upper left quadrant of the goal.
“Jannie has been practicing her free kicks a lot lately because she has the strongest shot on the team when it comes to line-driving it to the goal,” Coley said. “I was hoping that she would send a dangerous shot on frame, and she did exactly that and made something happen. She did a great job being in the right place and finishing, which is not easy to do.”
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The Lady Colts were provided their fourth and final goal by senior Lilli Johnson, as she slid her team-leading 27th goal of the season right underneath the oncoming keeper off to the right side of the goal in the 48th minute.
Coahulla Creek sophomore keeper Elizabeth Brito kept the clean sheet intact in the 78th minute with a brilliant diving stop on a hard ground ball free kick that went right under the Lady Colts’ leaping wall of defenders. Senior defender Megan Ramsey also led the back line along with sophomore Emily Cruz.
“Not that long ago, we had to fight and beat this team 1-0 in overtime for the region championship,” Coley said. “Our girls came out from the beginning of the game to the end of the game and never stopped pushing and working. They played their hearts out. Their teamwork and chemistry are clicking on all cylinders right now.
“We are excited to get another shot at Union City, which is another great team. We are ready to beat them and get to the state championship.”
(READ MORE: Southeast Whitfield, Coahulla Creek bring home GHSA soccer titles)
Coahulla Creek has now won nine straight matches, with its last loss coming to Union County on March 24. Coley’s team will get a chance to avenge that defeat as the Lady Colts will host Thursday’s 6 p.m. match against the Lady Panthers, who are 17-3 overall.
The Class 2A championship game will be played on Wednesday, May 13th at St. Pius X High School in Atlanta.
Sonoraville’s season came to a close at 15-4 overall, as the Lady Phoenix were led this season by Reinhardt signee Jaren Sanchez, freshman Natalie Townsend (48 combined goals and assists) and sophomores Emilie and Juliet Kindl.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.