The sophomore forward delivered an overtime goal in Dimond's 1-0 win in a Cook Inlet Conference semifinal match at Anchorage Football Stadium. Gogolowski found herself wide open in front of the net midway through the first of two 10-minute overtime periods and punched in a goal from point-blank range on a pass from Bobbye Pendleton.
"It feels awesome," she said.
The win secured Dimond a spot in next week's state tournament in Anchorage, which will include the top three boys and girls teams from the CIC.
Also securing spots in the state tournament were the Chugiak girls, who earned a 3-2 win over South; the South boys, who defeated a worn-out West squad 2-0; and the Dimond boys, who nipped Service 1-0.
The semifinal between the Dimond and Service girls was a tense battle that provided few scoring opportunities for either team.
Dimond coach Terry Curran said he expected an exciting match against the two-time defending conference champion Cougars. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in a match earlier this month and Dimond prevailed 2-0 in a match earlier in the season.
This time, the teams were scoreless through regulation and the 20 minutes of overtime produced only one goal.
"Ultimately it was a matter of time and something would go in," Curran said.
Dimond managed a few more shots on goal than Service, including a few threats that required impressive saves from Service goalie Samantha Zumbro.
"Our goalkeeper is absolutely brilliant," said Service coach Mark Cascolan.
The Cougars are in what Cascolan called a rebuilding year after losing several key players from last season, but he thinks the girls are playing well and in some ways over-achieving.
"Nobody even expected us to be in the position we're in right now," he said. "Anything after the semifinals at regions is gravy for us."
Service will play South in a third-place match today, with a spot in the state tournament on the line. Cascolan said he expects both teams to play with emotion.
"It's a good rivalry, no doubt," he said.
Chugiak girls 3, South 2
Kelly Cobb scored a hat trick to lead Chugiak to a 3-2 win over South, putting the Mustangs in a title match for the first time since 2007, when they won the state championship.
Cobb scored the only goal of the first half and added two second-half goals on assists from Candice Smith and Tristyn Hall.
"It felt close," said Chugiak coach Paul Brehmer. "We were up 2-0 at one point, but knew they had the potential to score at any point. That's a good team."
South's Lexy Cardwell scored the team's first goal and a Bailey Butcher corner kick assisted Keely Jelinek on another goal with less than two minutes remaining.
South boys 2, West 0
South's Kirby Hutto scored twice to lift the Wolverine's to a 2-0 win over West, which was playing on little rest after winning a marathon match against Chugiak the night before.
Hutto's first-half goal came on a penalty kick and his second-half goal came off a Zak Naylor assist. Goalkeeper Trent Sanders earned a shutout.
West coach Laef Eggen said he took out his starters after Hutto's second goal in an attempt to rest his tired squad for today's third-place match against Service, the winner of which will advance to the state tournament.
The Eagles needed rest, because they were coming off a 108-minute match against Chugiak in Thursday's first round. They claimed a 2-1 victory with Gjeri Lena's goal in the second sudden-death overtime.
"The players that were out there played a lot of minutes and worked extremely hard," Eggan said.
In Thursday's match, Chugiak forced overtime in the 76th minute, erasing West's 1-0 lead provided by David Mruk's goal. West's starters played the entire match, Eggan said.
"As a team we've struggled all year," he said. "For them to put it together was a testament to their character."
Dimond boys 1, Service 0
Dimond's Travis Merritt scored in the 20th minute to give the Lynx a 1-0 semifinal win over Service. The win sets up a championship showdown with South for the second straight season.
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