MHS girls soccer advance with dramatic victory

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The Malibu High School girls soccer team. Photo by Ted Silverberg

Senior forward Kristiana Konkol comes off the bench after a six-month injury layoff to score the game-winning goal to beat Torrance 3-2.

By Dick Dornan / Special to The Malibu Times

The Malibu High School girls’ soccer team recorded one of the most dramatic victories in its storied history when the Sharks defeated Torrance, 3-2, in the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV playoffs last week.

Freshman midfielder Carmen Flood scored two goals and senior forward Kristiana Konkol capped off a wild finish when she scored the game-winning goal to knock off fourth-seeded Torrance on the road, in her first game after a six-month layoff due to a broken leg.

“It was like we just won the World Cup. We beat a top-four seed in dramatic fashion,” Malibu Coach John Johnstone said. “The girls now feel that we have the pieces to go all the way.  They believe.”

Malibu (12-4-4) kicked off the postseason by thrashing Ontario 8-0 in a wild card matchup Feb. 15, then upped the ante two days later with their victory over the highly seeded Tartars of Torrance High School (13-5-2) last Friday.

The Sharks controlled field position most of the first half of the game, only to see Torrance score two quick goals late in the half to take a 2-0 lead into the break.

Senior goalkeeper Maddie Clarfield, who recently signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Michigan, gave her peers a pep talk at halftime challenging them to step up their game. Johnstone followed Clarfield’s talk with a message of his own. Using a boxing analogy, Johnstone told his team that “we cannot win on a decision; we have to win on a knockout”.

“At halftime I knew we had to get the girls to focus on the task at hand,” Johnstone said. “We needed to finish.”

Malibu delivered a few jabs, an uppercut and then the knockout punch.

Ten minutes into the second half, Johnstone approached Konkol about playing for a few minutes to see if she could make a difference. Konkol had not played in any soccer game in the last six months due to a broken leg. She agreed to give it a try. The UCLA commit trotted on to the field and immediately “raised the level of the girls” according to Johnstone.

With 20 minutes remaining in the game and Malibu still down by two, sophomore Jane Sidley had a free kick from 35 yards out and she lofted the kick perfectly towards Flood. Amidst several players from both teams, Flood headed the ball into the Torrance net to cut the deficit to one.

Moments later, Malibu won a corner kick. Flood received a pass and did not wait, hitting the ball on the first touch into the back of the net to tie the game at two apiece. Momentum had swung significantly in favor of the Sharks.

With the seconds ticking away toward overtime, and a possible shootout looming, a moment occurred that will live forever in Malibu girls soccer lore. It brought back memories of the Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson hobbling to home plate only to hit a game-winning home run against the Oakland A’s in the 1988 World Series.

Konkel received a beautiful pass in the penalty box from sophomore Danica Downing. After beating one defender, Konkel collected herself, then calmly slid a shot past the Tartars goalie into the lower left hand corner of the net to give Malibu a 3-2 lead with only five minutes remaining.

It was her first shot of the season and her first goal of the season. Five minutes later, Malibu was moving on to the second round of the CIF playoffs.

“The girls did an amazing job,” Johnstone said. “We were able to put our game together in the second half. And what can you say about Kristiana. Incredible.”

Malibu was slated to play Brentwood at home yesterday with the winner advancing to the CIF quarterfinals tomorrow to face either Patriot or Canyon Springs at a site to be determined.