BY LANDON NEGRI
ONTARIO The Hemet girls soccer team picked up a victory Friday that wasn’t exactly lucky, but the Bulldogs certainly had some good fortune. The way the Hemet faithful see it, that made up for the way their 2012-2013 season ended. Juniors Bailie Boyd, Nola Prickett and Allison Hitchcock all scored second-half goals as Hemet reached its third semifinal in four years with a 3-0 shutout of host Ontario Christian in a CIF Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinal. Playing on a sopping wet, yet resilient natural surface, Hemet advanced to face Monday’s La Canada-Newport Beach Sage Hill winner in Tuesday’s semifinals. A year ago, the Bulldogs were eliminated in the quarterfinal round by eventual champion La Quinta despite holding a 20-2 advantage in shots. On Friday, Hemet outshot Ontario Christian on goal, 9-4. The Bulldogs (18-5-4) got some bounces to go their way in the second half, and the result has the unseeded Mountain Pass League champions thinking, “Why not us?” “I think Division 5 is the type of division where any game is up for grabs,” Hemet coach Craig Dwinell said. “I don’t think there’s one dominant team. If you put in the work in, then anyone can win on any given day.” Friday’s constant rain did render the pitch slick, and it took some time for Hemet to gain its footing . Once the Bulldogs did, they deflated the Knights (17-5-4) with two goals in a two-minute stretch of the second half. Boyd broke a scoreless draw in the 55th minute when she took a rising foot pass from Krista Haddock, beat the defender and buried a shot into the right edge of the net. Two minutes later, Prickett earned a penalty and caught the bar just right and deflected backward into goal. “I definitely don’t normally shoot PKs that high,” she said. “But, hey, I was just glad it went in.” Hitchcock padded the lead in the 66th minute when she booted a shot from 25 yards out that glanced off a defender’s head enough to go into the upper left half of the net for a 3-0 lead. CONTACT THE WRITER: [email protected]