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NEWHALL – Haley Hopkins was drained.

Physically. Emotionally. Nearly 100 minutes of intense CIF-SS playoff soccer had taken its toll on Mater Dei’s Vanderbilt-bound star.

So Hopkins was given a quick breather.

“I was pretty dead,” Hopkins said. “But when I saw we had a corner kick, I told my coach to put me in. Those are usually my thing.”

Hopkins mustered all her strength and energy, soared into the air and headed in the corner kick, two minutes before a potential shootout.

Hopkins was instantly mobbed by her teammates following her first career golden goal in a thrilling 1-0 victory at Hart High to advance to the CIF-SS Division 1 final.

“That felt pretty good,” Hopkins said, laughing. “I’m just so happy. I’m pumped up. We really wanted to go to the final. It was all about who wanted it in that game.”

The Monarchs posed for photos. They hooted and hollered and even broke into a rousing rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Mater Dei players Taylor Schmidt and Faith Harper might have gotten caught up in the moment, breaking a taboo of not celebrating on the other team’s sideline by running to the Hart side and trying to tear down a sign while being met with resistance from dismayed Hart fans.

Ultimately Mater Dei (12-5-4) celebrated its return to the CIF final, where it will take aim at its fifth CIF crown in seven appearances and its first since winning the 2015 title.

Mater Dei will play JSerra in the final on Friday or Saturday at a site to be determined.

“We all really wanted this. We came out from the start and were really, really excited and hyped,” said Mater Dei freshman goalkeeper Kelly McManus, who made several spectacular stops. “We’re just so excited right now.”

It was a heart-wrenching loss for Hart (22-3-4), which was trying to advance to its first CIF final since 2014.

Goalkeeper Victoria Ryan said the credit should go to Mater Dei on the final play.

“You’ve got to give them huge respect and props,” Ryan said. “It was a great ball, and (Hopkins) is a great player. If you don’t play her tight, she will make you pay.”

Hart came out firing as Taylor Scott created a quality look in the first 10 seconds of play.

In fact, Scott, Tori Waldeck and Taylor Moorehead created quality look after quality look.

They hit the crossbar. They hit the left post. They had a ball trickle tantalizingly close to the scoring line. They came within inches on several others. And then there was McManus, who made several stellar stops of her own.

“We had seven, eight, good chances to score, some unbelievable chances,” Hart coach Guilherme Mitrovitch said. “But if you don’t score, you are going to get punished, and we were punished on that free kick.

“But I’m very, very proud of these girls. They showed a lot of fight and they played well.”