The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Antonucci combination lifts Etiwanda to quarterfinal win
RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Being part of a national team is exciting, but there’s something special about playing with your sister.
Freshman Scottie Antonucci returned from time with the U15 national team to score the winning goal after her sister Brooklyn tied it as Etiwanda rallied to defeat Claremont 2-1 in a CIF-SS Division 2 girls soccer quarterfinal at Etiwanda High on Tuesday evening.
Top-seeded Etiwanda (22-4) advances to Friday’s semifinal at Harvard-westlake, the first semifinal trip in coach Jason Montgomery’s 23 seasons as head coach. Claremont’s season ends with a 19-5-2 record.
“I told the girls before we came out that I wanted this for them. I’ve been doing this a long time,” Montgomery said. “Obviously I wanted the monkey off my back and have the experience of taking the next step. But for them. A lot of them have been through this stretch.”
Tuesday marked the fourth straight year Etiwanda played in the quarterfinals and first time advancing to the semifinals. Claremont defeated an undefeated Etiwanda team in the quarterfinals two years ago.
With the score tied 1-1 in the 71st minute freshman Alondra Talamonte, from near the end line, passed to an open Scottie Antonucci in front of the goal for the game-winner.
“I was telling her, ‘cut it back, cut it back,’ ” Scottie said. “She didn’t even look and she just cut it back and I could just slot it in.”
It was an exciting result in the first game for the sisters playing together again.
“I’m really excited to play with my sister again,” Scottie said. “I think we can win it all.”
While the winning goal was some precise dribbling and passing, the tying goal was not. Senior Brooklyn Antonucci takes Etiwanda’s long free kicks, but on Tuesday, her tying goal came in open play, a rocket of a shot from about 30 yards away in the 55th minute.
“Most of the time I’m doubleteamed,” Brooklyn said. “I saw I had the touch and I had open space, so I took my little windup and hit it. It was an unreal feeling. It was like, ‘Did this really go in?’ ”
Etiwanda dominated throughout the game, but it was the Wolfpack who scored first. In the 40th minute, the Eagles were unable to clear a ball in the box. Goalie
Rilee Shipman came off her line to try and clear it but junior Gabrielle Flores pounced on it and fired a shot past her.
But Claremont could not hold the lead in the second half.
“They controlled the midfield,” Claremont coach Tim Tracey said. “We made done adjustment to try and curtail that. They are just a solid team. The (halftime) talk was simple: ‘You’re going to have to play your best soccer in the second half or they’re going to come back.’ ”