The San Luis Obispo girls soccer team defeated Clovis, 2-1, in a CIF Central Section Division 1 semifinal match on Tuesday night at SLO High.
The third-seeded Tigers struck first blood halfway through the first half as Belle Rudd found Raquel Kalpakoff off a free kick to make it 1-0.
Seventh-seeded Clovis answered right away in the second half as Kylie Lucero scored the equalizer.
But with under 10 minutes to play, Clovis’ keeper shanked a clearance ball and it went right to Tigers freshman Chase Kubinski. Kubinski fired the eventual game-winner into the wide-open net.
It’s the second straight championship appearance for San Luis Obispo after making it to the CIF Southern Section title match a year ago.
“I’m really excited, head coach Brittney Viboch said. “It’s really nice to be back in the CIF finals. It’s a different section, but I think this group has the potential to go all the way. They’ve done it and now I think they have the potential to win it all.”
“Our team has a lot of heart, and we just really want to win for our seniors especially. I felt like we persevered, freshman Chase Kubinski added.”
San Luis Obispo awaits the winner of Clovis North and Clovis West, which play on Thursday night. The championship time and location is still to be determined.
