Vikings dethrone their nemesis, 2-1

<p>Corner kicks are golden?</p><p>That's the mantra of Montgomery High girls' soccer coach Pat McDonald, who concedes that his pet phrase might sound a little silly. Whatever. His team showed Saturday night that corner kicks aren't just golden — they also win North Coast Section titles.</p><p>On an exquisite corner off the foot of senior Mackenzie Komrij to the head of sophomore Ashley Cella with 2:30 left, the Vikings beat Casa Grande, 2-1, in the NCS Division I title game at Santa Rosa High.</p><p>Cella's header, her second goal of the game, allowed top-seeded Montgomery to avenge two straight section championship-game losses to No. 2 Casa Grande and give the Vikings their first title since 2006.</p><p>Montgomery (22-2-1) has played in section championship games in each of McDonald's nine years at the school, winning four.</p><p>And the latest was made possible, in large part, due to the Vikings' attention to a specific part of the game.</p><p>“Yes, corner kicks are golden,” said Komrij. “That's been our motto. That's what we've worked so hard on all year.”</p><p>Said McDonald, “That's what we've said — corner kicks are golden. I know it sounds stupid, but it's something we worked on a ton this year.”</p><p>The corner put an end to a game that seemed destined for overtime.</p><p>With 14:30 left and the Vikings leading 1-0, a foul was called on Montgomery goalkeeper Megan Herring, resulting in a penalty kick that Casa Grande's Becca Yim buried in the right corner.</p><p>McDonald, who is known for his sideline histrionics, went mildly berserk after the call on Herring.</p><p>“I would have been livid if this game would have gone to overtime because of that call,” McDonald said. “I felt like we deserved to win this game. Casa played well and is a very good team, but we just wanted it so bad.”</p><p>Even Gauchos coach Vinnie Cortezzo couldn't disagree after his team lost to Montgomery for the third time this season. In fact, the Vikings handed Casa Grande (15-3-3) its only losses of the season.</p><p>So how did Montgomery, again, accomplish something no other team could do this season? The Vikings' latest win, Cortezzo said, had a lot to do with desire.</p><p>“Determination I would say. They all played so hard,” Cortezzo said.</p><p>And Cella said she was also blessed with a bit of good fortune on her game-winner, which she drilled to the far post.</p><p>She didn't actually have it all the way. Instead, she was somewhat disoriented as she rose from a crowd of humanity to meet Komrij's boot from the right corner.</p><p>“I honestly didn't even see where the goal was,” Cella said. “I just headed it and then looked back and saw it go into the goal. It was a pretty good feeling.”</p><p>A feeling, you might say, as good as gold.</p>