Aggie Robinson (1) of Marin Academy is mobbed by her teammates after stopping a shot in a penalty kick shootout to win a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Blythe DeGooyer (18) of Marin Academy kicks the eventual game winning penalty kick in a penalty kick shootout during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Aggie Robinson (1) of Marin Academy saves a penalty kick during a penalty kick shootout during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Stella Monberg (22) of Urban and Kacy Walker (9) of Marin Academy fight for a loose ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Stella Monberg (22) of Urban and Sadie Goodenough (19) of Marin Academy fight for a loose ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Raya Leikin (8) of Marin Academy dribbles away from Emily Saunders (12) of Urban during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Raya Leikin (8) of Marin Academy controls a ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Reese Goodenough (15) of Marin Academy dribbles a ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Reese Goodenough (15 ) of Marin Academy look at a loose ball with Talia Becker (27) of Urban during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Kacy Walker (9) of Marin Academy controls a ball while defended by Stella Monberg (22) of Urban during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Raya Leikin (8) of Marin Academy attempts to hold off Emily Saunders (12) or Urban during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Marin Academy players react to a missed penalty kick goal from Urban during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Scarlett Dedini (6) of Urban and Reese Goodenough (15) of Marin Academy fight for a loose ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Stella Monberg (22) of Urban attempts to move past the defense of Kacy Walker (9) of Marin Academy during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Phoebe Miller (16) of Urban attempts to control a ball while defended by Mona Moshashaee (16) of Marin Academy during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Stella Monberg (22) of Urban pressures the ball controlled by Sadie Goodenough (19) of Marin Academy fight for a loose ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Aggie Robinson (1) of Marin Academy walks to the goal at the start of a penalty kick shootout during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Marin Academy players react to a play during the penalty kick shootout during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Blythe DeGooyer (18) of Marin Academy controls a ball during a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
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Aggie Robinson (1) of Marin Academy is mobbed by her teammates after stopping a shot in a penalty kick shootout to win a North Coast Section Division II girls soccer semifinal game between Marin Academy and Urban at Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2025. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Sadie Goodenough stepped up to the penalty spot knowing she needed to make her kick for the Marin Academy girls soccer team then have Urban miss its final kick just to stay alive in the North Coast Section Division II semifinals.
What happened next will go down as the stuff of legend at MA. Goodenough pinged her penalty so hard off the underside of the crossbar that it hit the line and popped back up off the crossbar again before bouncing into the goal to keep the Wildcats in the game.
Urban had a chance to end the game on the next kick but the shot hit a similar part of the crossbar and ricocheted out. Blythe DeGooyer converted MA’s sixth penalty then goalie Aggie Robinson came up with a save to send MA into the section final after winning the penalty shootout 5-4. The game was tied 0-0 after regulation and both overtimes.
“I’ve been told by a bunch of my teammates that I should play football because I kick balls really high,” Goodenough said. “We practice PKs a lot and mine always go low but this one went high. I’m just really lucky it went in. Aggie played amazing, came up with a big save, and I’m so proud of her.”
MA’s players celebrated the win then drove north to Sonoma Academy where the other semifinal was taking place. The Wildcats (20-2-1) are set to host No. 15 Cardinal Newman — 2-0 winners over Sonoma Academy — for the title at 3 p.m. Friday.
“Tough way to end a game,” MA coach Sarah Rafanelli said. “It certainly took some years off my life to watch them pinging off posts and you know, again, it fell our way this time and we got lucky but we’ll take it. We’re excited to play in the finals.”
If cats have nine lives, the Wildcats certainly used up a few of them getting into Friday’s final. MA trailed Foothill 4-2 late in last week’s quarterfinal before Reese Goodenough scored a goal then Raya Leikin scored the equalizer late in regulation. Leikin got the winner in the first minute of extra time to get MA into Tuesday’s semifinal.
The woodwork came into play five different times as MA and Urban (17-6-0) battled it out for the fourth time this season. Reese Goodenough was denied a potential golden goal in the second overtime when her shot pinged off the crossbar. That was the only time the bounce off the goal frame went in Urban’s favor.
Leikin pinged MA’s second penalty kick high off the right post to put MA in front 2-1 after Reese Goodenough converted the first kick. Kacy Walker, who was key defensively throughout the contest, netted MA’s third to make it 3-2.
MA saw its fourth kick saved then Urban converted its fourth consecutive penalty to go in front 4-3 and push MA to the absolute brink. Sadie Goodenough’s penalty — reminiscent of Frank Lampard’s strike for England against Germany in the 2010 World Cup — was fortunately obviously over the line and in, giving MA the lifeline it needed.
Robinson made the most of her opportunity to make a game-clinching save, diving to her right to stop Urban’s sixth penalty.
“You could see that she was going right because she was standing diagonal to the ball,” Robinson said. “The other day we were taking PKs and learning about that. If they go straight to (the ball), usually they are going to go left. … I just went with that, chose to go right, to go with my gut and go 100%.”
The game was scoreless up until penalties in large part due to the work Walker and Steph Zola put in trying to mark Urban standout Stella Monberg out of the game. Monberg had a staggering 37 goals and 19 assists in 22 games prior to Tuesday.
“She’s such a dangerous player, so talented,” Rafanelli said. “She’s got such a great combination of being highly skilled and so good physically. She creates her own space so well so we did go into the game knowing we wanted to mark her really tightly and wanted to have someone goal side and also someone sweeping in front in case they could stop her from turning. This is our fourth time playing Urban and we know how dangerous she is.”
Walker, playing the holding midfielder, drew the primary assignment on Monberg with Zola stationed behind at center back to help out.
“I play club soccer with Stella – she’s a year younger but on the same club team,” Leikin said. “I knew some of her moves so beforehand I gave Steph and Kacy a rundown of some of the moves that she does and the side she tends to go to. Obviously with scouting and Kacy being a super physical and fast player and matching Stella in those areas of play, being able to shut her down and – when she would take a touch, having Steph right in behind — it was a good way to eliminate her because she couldn’t go anywhere.”
