Maybe losing in the North Coast Section final isn’t such a bad thing.

Or at least the Marin Academy girls soccer team is hoping for a repeat performance from 2023 when the Wildcats came up short in their section championship chase but rebounded to capture the CIF Northern California crown.

The No. 6-seeded Wildcats earned a spot in the NorCal final for the third time in four years by winning a penalty-kick shootout against No. 7 St. Ignatius after a 1-1 tie in regulation and overtime on Thursday in San Rafael.

Marin Academy plays at top-seeded Granite Bay on Saturday at 5 p.m. Granite Bay defeated Cardinal Newman 1-0.

The Wildcats’ NorCal Division II semifinal victory helped soothe the sting of their home loss to Cardinal Newman, 3-1, in the NCS final last week.

MA (22-3-1) suffered a similar fate in 2023 when it lost to Branson in the NCS finals and then beat the same Bulls team for the NorCal championship.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Marin Academy third-year coach Sarah Rafanelli. “They’ve had a tremendous season and the last several games have ended in dramatic fashion as today’s did. Through it all, they’ve shown so much heart and grit and togetherness.”

It was Rafanelli’s own daughter who sealed the Wildcats’ victory over visiting St. Ignatius. As the fifth MA player to take her shot, Sadie Goodenough drilled her penalty kick into the back of the net to give the Wildcats an insurmountable 3-1 edge.

Seniors Raya Leikin and Kacy Walker also converted penalty kicks for MA. Inserted into the game specifically to defend the penalty kicks, Wildcats goalie Alegra Huck batted away one shot to her right and knocked another up and over the goal.

“I love penalties,” said Huck, whose primary sport is volleyball. “I was just going out there and trusting my instincts. I was hoping I could save one or two for my team to help ease the burden. There’s a lot of burden on the shooters.”

St. Ignatius (11-8-5) earned its date with MA by upsetting No. 2-seeded Roseville in the first round. They stormed onto the MA campus with confidence, scoring 40 seconds into the game on a nice cross pass from Catherine Murray to Gussie Robillard, who angled in her shot from the left. Robillard is from Ross and plays for Marin FC.

The Wildcats responded less than two minutes later with their only goal. Freshman Reese Goodenough chased down a long ball and fired on goal from 15 yards out. SI goalie Dina Frenkel, who will play at Purdue next season, blocked the initial shot, but Goodenough pushed forward to knock in the rebound and tie the match at 1-1.

Rafanelli, who played at Stanford and for the U.S. women’s national team, says she’s feeling blessed that she is getting to coach her daughters especially since she took a backseat when they were young.

“This feels like such a gift,” said Rafanelli. “The experiences have been amazing. I’m so full of joy and full of joy to see their connections to their teammates and how hard they work for each other. To be a part of it is amazing.”

After the score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, there was no scoring during 15-minute overtime period. SI outshot MA 5-1 in OT but was shut down by starting MA goalkeeper Aggie Robinson. Another key defender for the Wildcats was senior center back Mona Moshashaee.

“Coming off the NCS final without the results we wanted, we knew we had to fight — going in with the mindset that we can win and we will win,” said Walker. “We went in with a strong, confident mindset.”