Archbishop Mitty celebrates their victory over St. Francis in the CIF NorCal Division I championship, going 4-1 in penalty kicks, Saturday, March. 2, 2024, at Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE – Trailing in the 80th and final minute of regulation Saturday, Archbishop Mitty needed a miracle.
Guiseppe Sigala answered.
The senior scored the most dramatic goal of his team’s season, a top-shelf strike that sent the Northern California Division I regional championship game against archrival St. Francis into sudden-death overtime tied two apiece.
Mitty, playing on its soggy home field in San Jose, ultimately prevailed 4-1 in penalty kicks to capture the program’s first regional title.
But it nearly didn’t get to PKs.
More drama unfolded in the extra period as Mitty goalkeeper Alan Quintero somehow got a small piece of a shot by sophomore Michael Scavotto, who was charging up left side in the final seconds of the 15-minute overtime session, one-on-one with the keeper.
“Scary moment,” Sigala said.
Instead of St. Francis celebrating a championship goal one week after losing to Mitty in the Central Coast Section Division I final, the match went to penalty kicks.
Quintero blocked two of St. Francis’ three PK attempts.
Mitty made all four of its tries, the last initially stopped by keeper Tomas Santa Gadea. But the ball trickled across the line for the winner to ignite a wild celebration on a cold and rainy afternoon.
“Man, it was almost like a fairytale story,” Quintero said. “It was right to the very end. We were trailing 2-1. Guiseppe scores one of the greatest goals I’ve seen all season. Overtime, we were all over them. It being penalties, it was perfect. It was extended as long as possible, just like a final should be. It should be even. Fair.
“When the final whistle blew and we knew it was going to be penalties, I knew it was my game. I had to step up.”
Had Quintero not stepped up just before the whistle to end OT, there would not have been penalty kicks.
After Mitty controlled the possession time in OT, St. Francis nearly scored on a counter.
But Quintero made the save of the match.
“I was like, ‘This is going to be the last play of the game,'” Quintero said. “I saw him running down and was like, ‘What can I do? What can I do with a one-on-one?’ I just decided to get big, spread myself out and I luckily saved it with my back. It hit my back foot.”
Was it on goal?
“I think it was going in,” the keeper added.
Check back later for more on this story.
Originally published at Darren Sabedra