Girls soccer: Marin Catholic leaves it late, punches ticket to state

Siena White received the ball in her own half, split a pair of defenders then pulled away from both of them with a burst of pace that underscored the urgency of being in a tie game inside the final 5 minutes of a NorCal final.

White encountered another defender near the 18-yard box, dribbled past her as well and kept going. By the time White was done, she was inside the box drawing some contact – a foul that resulted in a penalty kick.

Nora Snearly converted the spot kick to give the Marin Catholic girls soccer team a late lead to protect. MC’s defense stopped a golden opportunity for Twelve Bridges to climb back into the game in stoppage time and the Wildcats won their second NorCal Division IV title in three seasons following a 1-0 home win on Saturday night.

Nora PK. MC up 1-0. Last 5. #marinsoccer pic.twitter.com/H5mCbAtArZ

— Ian Ross (@IRossMIJ) March 8, 2026

“It feels really good,” White said. “I mean we keep fulfilling all the goals that we made for this season which is super great and I’m just so happy that our journey isn’t over yet. We’re still going. There aren’t a lot of teams left so it’s pretty special to still keep practicing and playing games and we’re super excited for Friday’s game.”

MC (12-7-5) has the opportunity to play for a state title – a new opportunity offered by the California Interscholastic Federation this season. The Wildcats, the No. 1 seed in NorCal, are set to face Coachella Valley (20-1-2), the No. 5 seed from SoCal, at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Natomas High in Sacramento.

“I wasn’t on this team when they last won the NorCal championship so to have it deja vu come back and I’d be able to contribute in the final is just immaculate,” Snearly said. “I never imagined I would be in this position and now that we’re in it, it’s just surreal.”

The winning sequence began with a free kick for the Wildcats from deep in their own half. The ball got to White, who let it bounce over her then drifted to her right with it while beating a pair of Raging Rhinos for pace.

“We needed to play more offensively and we wanted that goal and there wasn’t a lot of time left,” White said.

After White was taken down inside the box, Snearly stepped up to the penalty spot with a spot in the state title game essentially on her left foot in the 76th minute.

“(White is) incredible,” Snearly said. “I mean, I don’t remember how many people she dribbled through but it had to be at least four. Once she drew the PK – weirdly enough, I told my dad if there was a PK in the game I was going to take it.”

Snearly blasted her penalty into the net while her mom, MC coach Elizabeth Snearly, watched from the sideline.

“I could see (Nora) methodically going through the setup and I knew that she was doing her best to stay in that with the focus and not get lost into everything else,” Elizabeth Snearly said. “So I knew that as a coach, but I couldn’t breathe. I took a big exhale at the end of it because that goalkeeper [Giselle Guerrero] was excellent. She made so many beautiful saves and it was not going to surprise me for her to try get a hand on it.

“I’m incredibly happy for Nora and proud of Nora to have the composure in that moment. That was intense.”

MC had created essentially all the genuine chances in the game but Twelve Bridges’ defense had bent but not broken up until that point. MC’s defense was looking for its seventh consecutive postseason shutout but had to navigate one big chance for Twelve Bridges in stoppage time.

MC was called for a handball just beyond the left edge of the 18-yard box. Twelve Bridges’ top scorer on the season with 23 goals, Mia Summerhays, stood over the free kick.

Summerhays put her shot on frame and MC goalie Julianna Sokolov got a piece of it, knocking it wide to her right. White swooped in to clear the ball and end the Raging Rhinos’ best and last chance of the match.

“I just tried to clear it wide,” White said. “I got a toe on it and was able to poke it out but it was definitely one of their better chances.”

MC’s back line of Lexi Ferguson, Savannah Browne, Lana Wihlborg, and Brooklyn Blackman secured another shutout.

A key development in MC’s successful postseason run has been moving White up from her traditional position at center back up into the midfield and often into the attack. Wihlborg moved into White’s center back spot and has been crucial to the success of the back line in White’s stead.

“(Wihlborg is) doing awesome,” Elizabeth Snearly said. “She’s filling that space for us. She’s so aggressive in the air. She’s all over the players. She filled that need for us so well.”

Although MC controlled the game and created almost all of the chances, Guerrero and her defenders were able to keep the Wildcats at bay until the last 5 minutes.

White had the best chance of the first half, rattling the crossbar with a shot in the 36th minute. Claire Hunnewell forced a reaction kick save from Guerrero in the 66th minute.

It felt like the goal was coming for MC but it still hadn’t in the 73rd minute, when Nora Snearly put a shot on target that glanced off a defender and hit the post.

Finally, White’s solo run and Snearly’s penalty were enough to give the Wildcats the breakthrough they had been seeking.

“I know our whole team is really excited and we’ve all talked about it going into every game,” White said. “We want to make history for our school and we don’t want to end our season yet so we’re going into Friday’s game with everything we’ve got and we’re really pumped.”