Granada Hills left wing Nina Manser scored on a rising shot just inside the near post nine minutes before full time and the third-seeded Highlanders hung on to beat Palisades, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the City Section girls soccer playoffs last Friday afternoon. The goal, Manser’s first of the season, brought an abrupt end to the Dolphins’ season and the high school career of several Dolphins, including striker Lucy Miller, who was held scoreless for just the fifth time this season but still finished with 26 goals in 20 games. “It’s disappointing to come this far and lose, but we still had a great season,” PaliHi forward Kelly Mickel said. “It was one of those games that we knew would probably be decided by one goal.” Palisades sent all but two of its players forward in the final minutes trying to score the equalizing goal. Just before the final whistle, PaliHi midfielder Kate Rosenbaum controlled a cross and took a point-blank shot from six yards out that Granada Hills’ sophomore goalie Amanda Katz punched over the crossbar. The game was nearly a carbon copy of the teams’ semifinal meeting a year ago when it was Palisades scoring a late goal to win and advance to the finals for the first time in school history. Sophomore Allison Kappeyne made 13 saves for the sixth-seeded Dolphins (12-4-4), including eight in the second half. Granada Hills (19-5-2) hosted 10th-seeded Locke yesterday with the winner advancing to Saturday’s final at East Los Angeles College. “I’m really proud of the way we played,” PaliHi coach Kim Smith said. “We lost today but it was still a successful season.”
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