The game of soccer can be a cruel adversary or your BFF.

It is a fine line.

For the girls from Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep on Wednesday (Feb. 6), it was the former. For Tucson Catalina Foothills, it was the latter.

Catalina Foothills kept its hopes alive for a fourth straight state championship in a Division II semifinal match, scoring a controversial goal with 1:26 left in regulation for a 1-0 victory at Phoenix Paradise Valley High.

Catalina Foothills (21-3-2) will play for the state title at Gilbert Campo Verde on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 10:30 a.m. against Glendale Apollo, which defeated Sahuarita 2-0 in the other semifinal.

Notre Dame (14-3-4) and Catalina Foothills battled all the way through. Each team had its chances to score, but could not find the back of the net.

Catalina Foothills was the aggressor for most of the second half, maintaining control in the Notre Dame end.

Time was running out and each touch of the ball came with a greater sense of urgency.

The Falcons’ Amber Measley sent a shot in front of the goal from the right side and there was a mad scramble. Teammate Aleah Strength made contact with the ball near the left side of the goal and appeared to bump goalkeeper Meredith Reinhardt at the same time.

It appeared initially that the keeper had made the stop, but then the ball trickled away and the referee ruled a goal.

Catalina Foothills jumped for joy, and the Saints tearfully voiced their displeasure.

Catalina Foothills coach Charlie Kendrick, who has led his program to five titles since 2006, felt relieved to get this one over with. The Falcons and Notre Dame battled to a 1-1 tie in the (Phoenix) Horizon tournament in early December.

“It was brave of our kid to challenge for the ball,’’ he said of Strength. “She wanted to win.

“Once we settled down, we were able to control things a little bit.

“Notre Dame played with a lot of heart. It would have been a worthy representative (in the championship match).

Notre Dame coach Gary Gregory consoled his players and tried to bite his tongue as best he could in regard to the fateful sequence.

“This is a horrible sport,’’ he said, shaking his head.

“I’m not saying we should have won, but we shouldn’t have lost on that. You try to preach to the kids not to talk to the officials, but this was a tough one. They (Catalina Foothills) are a fantastic team. We had our chances early, and they were on offense in the second half.’’

Gregory felt particularly bad for his seniors, including forward Madison Reisdorf, who saw her outstanding four-year career come to a close.