Valentina Labuschagne, a senior, scored a first-half goal on a corner kick and assisted on a header by sophomore Lucy Mendiola following another corner kick in the 42nd minute for second-seeded Mater Dei High in California in a 2-0 girls soccer victory against top-seeded Santa Margarita Catholic High in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 1 championship match at Tesoro High in Las Flores.
Ella Priest, a sophomore goalkeeper, had seven saves for the Monarchs, who recorded their seventh shutout in eight postseason matches to capture their first regional crown in program history. Mater Dei reached the Division 2 regional final in 2015, falling to La Costa Canyon.
Kaitlin Crossett, also a sophomore goalkeeper, had eight saves for Santa Margarita, which appeared in its fourth consecutive Division 1 regional final, matching the success of JSerra from 2017-20.
Mater Dei, which snapped a five-match winless streak against Santa Margarita, will compete March 14 in the inaugural Division 1 state championship match against unbeaten Bishop O’Dowd at Natomas High in Sacramento.