Xavier coach Barb Chura is not bashful when it comes to talking about freshman forward Nikki Walts -- and for good reason.

Walts scored two goals in the final 13 minutes Wednesday to help the Gators skip past Desert Vista, 3-1, in a 5A-I girls soccer semifinal at Campo Verde High School.

Xavier (18-5-1) will play in the 5A-I final for the third straight year and look for a threepeat. Xavier faces Hamilton, a 2-1 winner over Mesquite,in Saturday's final at 3:30 p.m. at Campo Verde.  Desert Vista closed out its season 16-6-1.

"Nikki is a big-time player," Chura said. "I told her at halftime to go out and show everyone the big-time player you are."

Xavier and Desert Vista played to a 1-1 tie at intermission. Both scored on 30-yard kicks -- Xavier first by Emily Holzmeister and Desert Vista by freshman Brenna Leftwich.

Desert Vista was wary of Walts and her offensive firepower and marked her as most foew do. But in the final half of the second half the Thunder lost track.

"We marked her the whole game," Desert Vista coach Paul Manogian said. "We got a little confused where she was. Normally she's a forward, but she shifted to midfield. I didn't catch on right away."

By the time Desert Vista did, it was too late. Walts tallied in the 67th minute to snap the tie and iced the match with a header in the 77th minute.

Xavier now gets a chance to avenge its only 5A-I loss, a 1-0 decision last month to Hamilton.

Xavier, which lost 13 seniors to graduation, has rebuilt with more than half its starting lineup freshmen or sophomores and only two seniors.

"To do what we're doing, I'm just thrilled," Chura said.