Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal Sacred Heart Prep goalie Catherine Donahoe makes one of her 12 saves during the Gators’ 7-5 win over Mitty in the CCS Division II semifinals Wednesday evening.

The Gators, one of the top teams in Northern California, are the two-time defending Division II champs, won the West Catholic Athletic League regular-season and tournament title, and already claimed a 7-4 win over Mitty during the regular season.

None of that impressed the Monarchs and in the third period of their matchup with the Gators at Monta Vista High in Cupertino, Mitty scored three unanswered goals to tie the match at 5.

Sacred Heart Prep, however, was not to be denied. The Gators scored twice in the final minute of the third period and shut down the Monarchs in the fourth to record a 7-5 victory to move into the CCS championship match for the fourth time in a row.

“Playoffs are different (than the regular season),” said Sacred Heart Prep coach Jon Burke. “You’re going in as the (No.) 1 seed and people are gunning for you.”

The Gators will face another WCAL opponent 10 a.m. Saturday at Santa Clara University in the championship match. No. 3 St. Ignatius beat No. 2 Castilleja 6-5.

The Gators (21-8) have not been in too many tight games this season, but that is precisely where they found themselves Wednesday evening. Mitty (17-7) pressured Sacred Heart Prep at every turn, making the Gators earn everything they got. Sacred Heart Prep never trailed in the game and held a two-goal advantage for much of the match.

But up 5-2 following a Sarah Westcott goal following a Mitty foul with 6:34 left in the third period, the Monarchs responded. Becky Freidenbach floated a goal just over the out-stretched hand of Gators goalie Catherine Donahoe and just under the crossbar to cut the Gators’ lead to 5-3 with 4:52 left in the period. Just over a minute later, Amy Fry found the back of the cage with a shot from the perimeter and 36 seconds later, Haley Smith buried a shot from her hole set position to tie the score at 5.

At that point, Burke called a timeout.

“In our front-court offense, we got out of synch,” Burke said. “We called timeout and just re-grouped.”

The Gators assured themselves of a spot in the finals by being mentally tougher than the Monarchs. Out of the timeout, Sacred Heart Prep increased the pressure.

With under a minute to play in the third, the Gators got a bit of a lucky goal. From the right wing, Westcott floated a pass to the far right post. Heather Smith swam to the ball with a defender and the Mitty goalie in hot pursuit. Both swarmed over Smith and, although pushed under water, she somehow managed to flip the ball into the empty net to put the Gators up for good.

Smith added another goal with 10 seconds left in the period, off an assist from Emily Parsons, to give the Gators a two-goal cushion.

In the fourth period, Sacred Heart Prep more or less dominated. Although the Gators didn’t find the back of the net, they suffocated Mitty at every turn offensively. Donahoe came up huge in the cage, stopping all four of the Monarchs shots over the final seven minutes.

“The girls kept calm the entire time,” Burke said. “I think our conditioning came through in the fourth quarter.”

Sacred Heart Prep managed to win even though the Gators were 0 for 4 with the man advantage and missed on a 5-meter penalty shot early in the game.

Both teams actually got off to a slow start. The Gators finally broke the seal with 2:42 to play in the first period as Smith took a long pass from Donahoe on the right wing, split two defenders and beat the Mitty goalie for a 1-0 lead. The Gators increased their lead to 2-0 42 seconds later when Westcott, in the hole set, took a pass from Smith and backhanded a shot into the net.

Mitty cut the lead in half with a goal on the man advantage with just over a minute to play in the first period.

The Gators regained their two-goal lead when Erin Sheridan rifled a shot from the perimeter just inside the post for a 3-1 lead. Mitty’s Brenna Keane surprised everyone when her shot from an extreme angle deflected off Donahoe and into the net.

But just before halftime, the Gators struck again. With the shot clock winding down, Pippa Temple took a pass from Lisa Rennels and fired a shot on the cage, which slipped just inside the post for the score.

“We’re happy to have won the game. They (Mitty) made us play every single minute, every single possession of that game,” Burke said. “They forced us to make some pretty incredible shots. It was a huge mental win for us.”