SAN JOSE — Layla Tucakovic had between waiting six long days for a shot at redemption.
Last Friday, Archbishop Mitty’s sophomore goalkeeper was in goal for the only score of the game, allowing a lofted shot from St. Francis’ Lynn Byun to slip through her fingers in the Lancers’ 1-0 CCS title win.
Thursday against Bishop O’Dowd in the CIF NorCal Division I girls soccer semifinal round, Tucakovic got another chance. She was called upon in penalty kicks after the teams played to a 2-2 tie, and she came through in the biggest moment of Mitty’s season.
In the sixth round of penalties with Mitty leading 5-4, Tucakovic stopped the shot of O’Dowd’s Koffy’e Chappel, guessing right and diving left to stretch out and block Chappel’s close-range attempt.
Tucakovic’s clutch full-extension dive touched off a Mitty dogpile a few yards from goal and ensured that the Monarchs returned to the NorCal D-I championship game for the second straight year. After the disappointment of last week, Tucakovic was Mitty’s biggest hero.
“Just fight,” said Tucakovic of her mentality. “No matter what, you always have to be ready. I was hyped up. Got called up to save some PKs, and I was just warming up and getting ready mentally. I just let go and I flew. And then when I felt the ball in my hands, it was a great feeling. I saw my teammates running, jumping all up on me. It’s a fun experience and a lot of adrenaline.”
Mitty freshman Vivian Baker played the entire regulation and overtime in goal, ensuring the Monarchs (19-2-3) still had a chance to win the match in penalty kicks. But when it came time for the penalty shootout, Mitty coach JT Hanley knew where he was going to turn.
“She gets close to a ton of them,” Hanley said of Tucakovic. “So we were really confident that she would get her hands on one. She’s super athletic, super long, and she’s confident in that situation. A lot of times when goalkeepers get in these situations, they get out to shooter number six or shooter number seven, you can tell that they’re just, ‘Oh, God, it’s not happening today.’
“I really felt good about her body language every time she was up there. I’m happy for us that we advanced. I’m happy that we won this, but I’m particularly happy for her, because last Friday was a hard, hard day for her. But she’s bounced back great.”
It was a big surprise initially that Mitty was even in a position to need penalty kicks to win. The Monarchs built a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from senior Tvesa Vathulya in the sixth and 43rd minutes.
But late signs of life from O’Dowd (19-2-2) quickly turned into something more. Abby Forsgren gave Mitty something to think about with a goal in the 74th minute after slipping behind the Monarchs’ back line, but Mitty still seemed to be in control.
That changed when Forsgren tapped in a second goal after a free kick generated a loose ball in the 78th minute. Suddenly, O’Dowd winning the game and moving on to the Division I championship was a real possibility.
“We’re called the Dragons for a reason, man,” O’Dowd coach Mark Savvides said. “We don’t give up. We got that fighting spirit in us. And even at 2-0 down, we always got a chance to come back into the game. So I’m happy as a team either way, win or lose.
“It would have been great to win. But to see our competitive spirit and show that fight, I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, especially as we had a PK to win it. But I can’t be any prouder of my team. We fought fantastically.”
O’Dowd’s best chance to win came in the fifth round of penalty kicks. The Dragons were 4 for 4 to start the shootout and led 4-3 entering the final scheduled round.
Mitty’s Vathulya made her penalty to force O’Dowd to convert to earn the victory. And sure enough, it mattered, as the Dragons’ fifth penalty sailed high over the crossbar, opening the door for the Monarchs to turn the tables and seal the win.
“It’s kind of a lottery,” Hanley said. “You could play really well, and then end up bombing out of the tournament. So when (Tucakovic) made that save, you exhale. We happened to draw the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card in terms of the results. (O’Dowd’s) got a super young team, and as much as this hurts, they will profit from this experience, the run in the tournament.
“Frankly, it sucks to lose like this, but sometimes you need that when you’re a young player, to have that taste in your mouth so that the next year, you’re like, ‘I don’t want that to happen again.’ So it was a great soccer game. This is what high school soccer is capable of being.”
