SANTA ROSA >> The Marin Academy girls soccer team had plenty of recent history to overcome in its bid to spring an upset against top-seeded Cardinal Newman during Tuesday’s North Coast Section Division IV semifinal match.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats had already lost to Cardinal Newman earlier in the season. The host Cardinals had won 19 of their first 20 games this season. The Cardinals had also beaten MA in section title games in 2019 and 2020.

But 30 minutes into Tuesday’s match, thanks to a pair of long blasts from Cami Colpitts and Raya Leikin, the Wildcats got all the offense they would need in knocking off Cardinal Newman 2-1 on a chilly, windy night to advance to the section title game.

MA’s victory sets up an all-Marin final against host Branson at 3 p.m. on Friday. The No. 3 Bulls knocked off No. 2 Campolindo 2-0 in Tuesday night’s other semifinal.

The Wildcats (13-3-3) are looking for another shot at Branson after suffering a 3-0 loss to the Bulls in December. The two teams faced off in the 2019 and 2020 NorCal finals with the Bulls coming out on top in both of those matches. MA knocked Branson out of the NCS D-IV playoffs in the 2019 semifinal.

Against Newman, Colpitts made the first shot of the contest count as she took a flick from Danica Blix from just outside the box on the left side and blasted it over the Cardinal keeper for the 1-0 lead just 5 minutes into the game.

“I’m so proud of this team,” Colpitts said. “We really came together for this win. The first goal I knew I was with the wind and it was kind of a lucky chance, but I’m glad it went in. We knew we had a better shot with the wind (in the first half). Both of our goals were longer shots.”

With the first half winding down, Leikin was able to control an MA throw-in on the left side, take a few dribbles on a diagonal and fire a shot from nearly the same spot as Colpitts to make it 2-0.

“It just solidified our confidence a little bit,” Leikin said of the two first-half goals. “We could just possess instead of having to keep forcing it up the field. When they told me to shoot … I just gave it my all.

“We knew we had that rematch in us to win. In the second half against the wind, we were just staying calm and trying to possess because we knew balls going through would just get pushed back by the wind.”

With Newman (19-2-0) getting the wind at its back to start the second half, MA had to go into a more defensive mode to try to keep the Cardinals’ attack at bay.

“It was nice to have that two-goal lead knowing that we were going to be against the wind in the second half,” MA coach Sarah Rafanelli said. “They were in our half almost the whole second half and so we were just trying to prevent them from getting shots off knowing that any shots could be dangerous with the wind carrying them.”

It didn’t take long for Newman’s top offensive threat to get on track in the second half. Abella Hunter was able to flick a through ball past MA goalie Addie Winship to make it 2-1 with 30 minutes left to play.

Rafanelli was impressed with Kacy Walker’s ability to defend Hunter and her stellar play at midfield as keys to MA’s win.

The damage by the Cardinals could’ve been more severe if not for a pair of goal-line-saving blocks by Addie Winship. The first one came off a corner kick that nearly curved into the net early in the first half. Winship made a second stop after what looked like a pinball game with multiple Cardinals having chances in front of the MA goal near the end of the contest.

“In the second half, it really came down to the fight we had,” said Winship, who’s in her first season playing in goal. “Even though, it was kind of messy, we just wanted it more. Our defense did a good job of blocking their opportunities.”

Around the county

Ally Hsieh was involved in both goals as No. 3 Branson took down second-seeded Campolindo in Moraga on Tuesday night.

Branson’s first goal came in the 28th minute when Hsieh got behind Campolindo’s defense thanks to a through ball from Sophia Duran and took a shot from just inside the 18-yard box.

The keeper got a touch on the shot but deflected it off the face of an oncoming defender. The ball continued toward the goal line where another defender attempted to clear it off the line but was unable to do so. Branson jumped in front 1-0 despite playing into a stiff wind throughout the first half.

Branson took the wind in the second half but any momentum the Bulls hoped to gain from that advantage was curtailed when the lights went out causing the game to be delayed by about 15 minutes.

Branson’s second goal came inside the final 10 minutes.

Hsieh received the ball near midfield, made a quick turn to her right and ran right at Campolindo’s back line. Even with five defenders in her vicinity, Hsieh could not be stopped, blasting a near-post shot past the goalie to put the Bulls up 2-0.

Branson goalie Patricia DePalma — along with Hsieh, an MCAL Player of the Year candidate — also had a strong game.

“Patricia was massive for us in the second half,” Branson coach Tyler Gottschalk said. “She made a top-class save diving to her left to tip a ball around the far post that would have made it 1-1. She made a couple other brave plays on corners. She was big time for us in the second half.”