Chaminade Gets Kick Out of Cummins, 1-0

WEST HILLS —  Lia Cummins, whose feet got the best of her this season, finally got the best out of her feet.

Cummins, a senior midfielder for the Chaminade High girls’ soccer team, scored 20 minutes into the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over South Pasadena in a Southern Section Division III semifinal Tuesday at Chaminade.

Top-seeded Chaminade (26-2-1) faces second-seeded St. Lucy’s in the division title game Friday or Saturday at Gahr High. The Eagles beat St. Lucy’s earlier this season, 2-1, on penalty kicks in a Foothill tournament game.

Chaminade will play for its second consecutive title thanks to a play that began on a throw-in by forward Kerrie Clavadetscher.

Clavadetscher tossed the ball from the right sideline to midfielder Carlie Stokes, who was stationed in front of the net.

Stokes used her torso to send the ball to Cummins, who stood alone in the left side of the penalty area. The goal from five yards ended weeks of frustration for Cummins, who missed almost two months after breaking her right ankle Dec. 16 against Chatsworth.

“She put us through to the finals,” Chaminade Coach Mike Evans said. “She scored the biggest goal in history [on this field].”

Cummins, whose goal was only her second, did what came naturally when she saw the ball.

“I thought, ‘This is it, this is me,’ ” she said. “Usually it’s what every player does.”

South Pasadena realized what it would be facing since the team scouted Chaminade’s 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Notre Dame. Three Eagles nailed bicycle kicks during pregame drills.

“It was a little intimidating,” South Pasadena Coach Tom Ashby said. “I’m not sure I did the right thing as a coach.”

Fourth-seeded South Pasadena (19-3-7) appeared to be overwhelmed in the first half, but answered in the second half with some solid chances, the closest being Mary Cholko’s shot just left of the net with eight minutes left.

“That was scary,” said Evans, who crossed himself after the miss.

The Eagles had two goals disallowed in the final four minutes because the scorers were offside.