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Photo by Kevin Anderson

Rachel Weimer (9) and Cassiday Love fight for control of the ball during first half action Thursday in Class 5-1A regional championship game.

St. James Academy is headed back to the state quarterfinals.

The Thunder made that happen by earning a 4-0 victory over Mill Valley on Thursday afternoon in the Class 5-1A girls soccer regional championship game at Mill Valley High School.

The Thunder dominated from the opening whistle and rolled to a 4-0 victory.

Bridget Blowey stole the ball seconds into the game and lofted a long pass that bounced over a defender and right to the foot of teammate Rachel Weimer. Weimer pulled away from a defender and had a one-on-one with Mill Valley goalkeeper Becky Newhouse, but Newhouse charged out of the box and scooped up the ball before Weimer could unleash a shot.

Newhouse’s play was one of many great stops she made throughout the game, but the Thunder bombarded the Mill Valley goal with constant pressure and numerous shots, and it wasn’t long before a few slipped past.

Unlike the first meeting where Mill Valley caught St. James’ forwards with its offsides trap, the Thunder had few offsides issues this time around.

After a series of aggressive runs at the goal by Weimer, O’Brien, Bethany Smith and Kara McCaughey, the Thunder broke through in the 21st minute. Maggie Blowey fired a throw-in to Sarah Feldkamp. Feldkamp juggled it for a moment and knocked it to Weimer who slipped a pass to O’Brien. She lunged at the ball and one-touched it into the net for a 1-0 lead.

St. James scored again two minutes later. This time Maggie Blowey put a header into the net after receiving a corner kick from Bridget Blowey.

Weimer scored her first goal of the game 32 seconds before halftime off an assist from Smith to make it 3-0.

Weimer added a second goal four minutes into the second half and put the game out of reach.

Mill Valley ended its season with a 13-4 record. St. James improved to 14-3-1. The Thunder next play Tuesday in the state quarterfinals against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

For an in-depth report on Thursday’s game, pick up the May 21 edition of The Dispatch and check back to shawneedispatch.com.

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