Allie Frost's Overtime Goal Ices 2-1 Playoff Victory for St. Margaret's

St. Margaret's forward Allie Frost scored in the fifth minute of sudden-death overtime to give the Tartans' girls soccer team a 2-1 victory over Central Valley Christian in a first-round match of the Southern California Division III Regionals Tuesday afternoon at Central Valley Christian High in Visalia.

Frost, a sophomore, received a pass from freshman forward Maddy Glaser, beat a handful of opposing players and placed the game-winning shot just out of the goalkeeper's reach into the corner of the net. Glaser scored in the 49th minute of the game to give St. Margaret's a 1-0 lead.

With two seconds remaining in the match, the Tartans were called for a handball outside the box. The penalty kick by Central Valley Christian bounced off the shoulder of St. Margaret's goalkeeper and into the goal to tie the score.

"Had our goalkeeper blocked the shot or had it bounced the other way, we would have won the game in regulation," Tartans coach Johnny Marmelstein said by phone Tuesday. "But the girls showed a lot of heart and desire. They decided they weren't going to let that goal beat them."

Added Marmelstein: "Allie Frost was the player of the game for us. It was a thing of beauty to watch her dribble and the plays she created."

St. Margaret's  (27-2-1), originally the No. 7 seeded team in the eight-team bracket, was scheduled to play at the Bishop's School in La Jolla. However, when Southern Section Division 5 champion Desert Christian decided not to play in the tournament, the CIF office updated its pairings and seeded the Tartans at No. 5.

The new seeding resulted in a new first-round opponent in fourth-seeded Central Valley Christian (23-2-2) and a longer road trip for the Tartans, who were on their bus for 4 1/2 hours.  They will hit the road again on Thursday for the semifinals, facing top-seeded Flintridge Sacred Heart, which defeated eighth-seeded Horizon Christian Academy, 6-1, in their first-round game Tuesday.

Flintridge Sacred Heart defeated San Clemente, 1-0, in the Southern Section Division 1 championship game on Friday. St. Margaret's was the Division 6 champion with its 2-0 victory over San Dimas on Friday.