Saruwatari’s hat trick lifts Santiago to victory in opener

Junior forward scores early in match, adds two more goals in final four minutes

>> Maddy Saruwatari feels like she can breathe now that she’s scoring goals again.

The junior forward tallied all three as the Santiago girls soccer team earned a 3-0 shutout over Eastlake in a CIF Southern California Division I regional quarterfinal match Tuesday.

“I wasn’t scoring that much in league, so to be scoring now is like a breath of fresh air,” said Saruwatari, who has four goals in her last two matches.

Abby Turley made three saves in the second half for top-seeded Santiago (242-2 overall), which notched its 16th consecutive win and fifth straight postseason shutout. The Sharks host No. 5-seeded Mira Costa (18-2-4) in the regional semifinals tonight.

“We’ve never won CIF (Southern Section) and state (regional) in the same year and we’re so close,” Saruwatari said.

Krystal Medina assisted on Saruwatari’s second and third goals, slicing through the midfield to deliver pinpoint passes.

“(Medina) is so fun to watch when she’s running past her marks late in matches,” Santiago coach Mike Fleming said. “Then she plays the perfect pass nine times out of 10.”

San Diego State-bound senior Mia Lane was dangerous in the attacking third, but Eastlake (17-52) played without two key players and ended its season allowing seven unanswered goals.

“Tonight was about the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes,” Eastlake coach Gabriel Gamboa said.

The Titans had a 2-0 lead on Torrey Pines in the San Diego Section Division 1 final but allowed four goals in the second half in a 4-2 loss on Saturday.

“Torrey Pines went right at one of our injured players, and tonight we didn’t have arguably our two best players,” Gamboa said.

On Tuesday night, Saruwatari got Santiago off to a fast start with a goal in the fourth minute.

“It’s a whole team effort and thankfully I was able to finish those chances,” she said.

The Sharks’ back five did not allow a shot on goal over the first 40 minutes before absorbing some pressure in the second half, with Turley coming off her line multiple times to clear the ball away.

“We’ve got that senior leadership with Gracie (Kelly) at center back and everyone understands their roles,” Fleming said. “And (Turley) is feeling good right now.”

With Medina’s motor wearing down her defenders late in the match, the 5-foot string-puller slipped a pass through to Saruwatari in the 76th minute before doing it again 3 minutes later for goals No. 2 and 3.

“She (Medina) gets me, and I get her, and we just have that chemistry,” Saruwatari said. “We know where each other is going to be.”

Both scored as Santiago defeated Santa Margarita 2-0 to win the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship Saturday at Veterans Stadium in Long