Carpinteria’s Elizabeth Estrada scored two goals, and the Warriors overcame a 1-0 deficit and beat Fillmore 2-1 on Friday to win the Frontier League girls soccer championship at St. Bonaventure.
It’s the second league title in program history, with the first coming in 2008.
The Warriors lost 5-2 at Fillmore on Wednesday and fell behind early in the second half when the Flashes top scorer got free and scored on a shot into the upper corner of the goal.
A Fillmore win would have created a co-championship.
“Our girls did not want to share the title, they wanted it outright,” Carpinteria coach Charles Bryant said. “This was a very physical, but clean, game and it was just a downright battle all over the field in every position. The best thing that could have happened to us was to lose two days ago.”
Carpinteria did not panic after falling behind.
“We just kept playing, kept forging ahead and stayed positive throughout,” said Bryant.
Their steady play was rewarded when Estrada scored the equalizer and struck again 10 minutes later to give the Warriors the lead.
“She found the keeper off her line and out of position,” Bryant said. “She calmly lofted in the winning goal from about 25 yards out.”
Carpinteria played defensive for the remainder of the match.
“Fillmore had to win today to claim the league title but we just settled in in the back, kept everything compact and took away their passing lanes,” Bryant said.
The Warriors finish 12-1 in league and 14-5 overall. Fillmore came in second at 11-2.
“Just an incredible win by a great group of girls. Again, the chemistry on this team is amazing. We could have the same skill as some of our other teams but would not get the results that this team is getting. They find a way to win when their backs are against the wall. They find a way to adapt if they are playing an opponent with a different style,” said Bryant
The coach praised the play of goalkeeper Laura Valdez.
“She made great saves, did not give up many second chance balls and did a great job helping to organize our defenders,” he said.
Defender Aly Springer also did a good job marking Fillmore’s outstanding freshman forward.
The game was originally scheduled for Thursday at Carpinteria, but it was moved to St. Bonaventure’s turf field because of the rain and sloppy field conditions at Memorial Stadium.
Carpinteria moves on to next week’s CIF playoffs. They’ll learn their draw on Monday.
“CIF will bring on some unfamiliar teams but the way our girls are competing, I am hoping they can have a good run,” said Bryant.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.