By Don Ketchum

Face flushed and taking deep breaths after running all over the field, Emily Parker came to the Tucson Catalina Foothills bench, where she was greeted by her soccer teammates.

“Emily, that was sick,’’ one of the teammates said.

That’s sick in a good, amazing way.

The freshman scored just 1:12 into the second half to break a scoreless tie and gave her team a much-needed spark for her third-seeded team as it defeated top-seeded Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 2-0 for the first Division II championship on Saturday (Feb. 11) at Gilbert Campo Verde High.

Parker was called up to the varsity as a reward for a strong junior-varsity season in which she led the team in scoring.

But to score a goal for the varsity in the state championship game?

“If you would have told me I would do that, I wouldn’t have believed it,’’ she said. “I didn’t think I was even going to play. I was really nervous when I went in.’’

She even got an abrasion on her leg after sliding across the artificial turf as a souvenir.

“It was a beautiful pass,’’ she said of receiving the ball after she had slipped behind a few defenders. “The ball was right where I wanted it. I didn’t want to let my teammates down, or the fans, or my family.’’

It was the third straight state title for Catalina Foothills under coach Charlie Kendrick.

“The kids got tight early, so it was a matter of us settling down,’’ said Kendrick, who received a shower of ice water after the match. “We started to play and we passed the ball and I don’t think Cactus Shadows was able to react as well to that pressure.

“I’ve been on the other side (loss) and sometimes you need to lose one before you win one. I say that with nothing but respect for Cactus Shadows. They have built a good program and have a good future.’’

Cactus Shadows had several chances to score, but couldn’t connect.

Catalina Foothills’ Laura DeMers was strong in goal. She got help on many occasions from her defense led by Sheridan Cohen, who headed the ball away or kicked it out of range.

Cactus Shadows’ hopes for a tie took a significant blow when Jenna Glad scored on a header with 24:36 left in the match to make it 2-0.