Center Point-Urbana rallies to beat Gilbert in 1A girls’ soccer quarterfinals

DES MOINES— Trailing 1-0 to Gilbert at halftime, Center Point-Urbana needed to start getting its collective foot on the ball near the net.

Outshot 11-6 in the first half, the Stormin' Pointers had basically split possession with the Tigers, but weren't able to get clean looks near the goal. Within the first 10 minutes of the second period, it was obvious things had shifted.

Then, in the 52nd minute, freshman Adrianna Katcher got her foot on the ball near the Gilbert goal. Dancing past a defender and the keeper, she sent in a shot from a few feet out for her 17th goal of the year. Tie game.

'I was getting very aggressive because we weren't doing real well in the beginning,' Katcher said. 'After I scored you could feel the energy, it was amazing.'

A little over 10 minutes later, Allison Wooldridge broke the tie with a header to the middle of the goal. Gilbert keeper Erin Kimle didn't have a chance.

Wooldridge's strike would ultimately be the game winner and the sixth-seeded Stormin' Pointers (16-4) are headed to the Class 1A semfinals for the second time in school history. They'll face No. 2 seed North Polk (17-2) on Friday.

Gilbert (17-3), meanwhile, is headed home.

'When we get that many opportunities, we're going to be dangerous,' CPU co-head coach Todd Mitchell said. 'It's fantastic to be back. We've played some tremendous teams down here. When we got back down here, we felt our chances were better than they were in 2013 when we got to the semifinals.'

CPU ended with 10 second-half shots and its set plays were working pretty well. They've been a critical part of the Stormin' Pointers' success and while they took eight corners before they were able to execute and score, it felt like a matter of time before one would go in.

It also took a tremendous defensive effort from CPU, including eight saves from keeper Lauren Dufoe. Gilbert had 20 total shots, but wasn't able to get a whole lot going in the second half outside a few short chances.

The Tigers' best chance to equalize came in the 76th minute, but Dufoe made a tremendous save on the left side of the goal to knock it just out past the post. It put the finishing touches on a strong win.

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