It takes awhile for the scoring machine that is the Charleston Catholic offense to get going, but once it does, it can be hard to stop.
Such was the case Saturday evening as Catholic used a flurry of second-half goals, three from Caroline Dundervill, to dispatch St. Joseph 6-0 and win the Class AA-A Region 4 Section 2 championship at Andrew Jordon Field at Trace Fork in Charleston.
Catholic moves on to the Region 4 final, where it takes on Sissonville Thursday at Ripley High School. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
"The last few games, we were tied with Hurricane, we were tied with GW and we were down to Winfield," said Catholic coach Amy Mullen. "By the second half, we're able to figure it out and find a way to put the ball in the goal."
Even with the frequent slow starts and losing two senior starters Sophie Bumgarner and sophomore Sara Carr to injury, Mullen still has confidence in her squad as it moves deeper into the postseason.
"We just have to stay focused and know that as long as we stay together and continue to work then we should be able to get this done," she said. "Sara Carr, hopefully she'll be back by Thursday, but we have a few freshmen that can come in and fill those roles."
Catholic (19-1-1) dominated possession for much of the first half, which materialized into 13 corner kicks and nine shots on goal, but couldn't find a way to convert and the two teams headed into the half in a scoreless tie.
Payton Mullen finally broke through for Catholic, scoring off an assist from Dundervill in the 57th minute, and the floodgates opened from there. Dundervill scored off an assist from Mullen just six minutes later and assisted on a goal by Mills Mullen in the 69th minute as Catholic went up 3-0.
"We really came in with the strategy of playing defensively, and in the first half I thought we had them frustrated," said St. Joe coach Ben Eng. "In the second half, Charleston Catholic came out, and they are so mentally tough, and once they scored their first goal, we had to break our defensive strategy and go offensive and at that point we were in a vulnerable position and they scored a lot of goals."
Dundervill was far from finished, though. The senior tacked on two more goals, the latter of which came on a beautiful header off a cross from Peyton Keener, putting Catholic up 5-0 with 6:28 remaining.
"I don't know, we don't come out strong and our heads aren't really in it," said Dundervill of her team's opening-half woes. "I hate being tied at halftime and I thought my teammates and I really stepped it up."
It was an historic night for Dundervill, whose first score eclipsed the school record for career goals of 111 set by Kim Abcower.
Dundervill finished the evening with 114.
"It feels really good," she said. "I'm kind of humble about it because it's my last year and it's kind of sad. But I'm happy."
"She's not looking for the goal all the time," added Amy Mullen. "She's scores one goal against a team we're beating 8-0, but when we're playing a tough game, those are the goals she wants. She's a great player and we will miss her."
While Dundervill and the offense stole the show in the second half, Amy Mullen said it was the Catholic defense that led the way.
"Our defense does a great job," she said. "Between Maddie [Blaydes], Anna [Hewitt] and Amanda George, I couldn't ask for more. They come out and they do it and they're kind of the unsung heroes."
Chelsea Gale finished with 14 saves for St. Joe, which finished the year at 10-9-1.