The 2009 Point Loma High School (PLHS) Pointers girls soccer squad capitalized on its impressive hot streak this season, edging the former No. 1 seed Hilltop Lancers in CIF playoffs Saturday to advance to the Division II CIF semifinal round. The weekend win set up a showdown Wednesday, March 4 against Helix High for the right to move on to the CIF finals. The results of Wednesday’s match were unavailable at press time. On Saturday, a goal at the 65th minute of play by PLHS junior midfielder Shelby Murphy gave the Pointers a 1-0 victory over Hilltop (14-3-2). “The final score was closer than the play on the field,” said PLHS head soccer coach John Murphy. “We felt that we won both halves but didn’t do a good job of finishing our scoring opportunities. There was one time the ball hit the post and another kick we just missed. We left some goals out there on Saturday.” Shelby Murphy led the team in scoring this year with 15 goals and 9 assists, but perhaps none were as important as her goal Saturday. “It was a pretty good goal but I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teammates,” said Shelby Murphy. The Pointers started the season with a 0-3-1 record but ended the regular season on a 10-1-5 run. The streak included a 15-game non-losing stretch that ended in the final regular-season game against Eastern League rival Scripps Ranch on Senior Day. “There was a lot of emotion before that game and we just didn’t play that well,” said John Murphy. “But we went on to take out a very solid Valhalla team to open the playoffs.” Despite the disappointing defeat in the regular-season finale, the Pointers bounced back in the first round with a win over Valhalla in the quarter-final round, which ended 4-1 in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation. Point Loma has been defeated in only 1 out of the past 18 games, including the playoffs. The Pointers entered the final regular season game against Scripps Ranch in first place but finished second in the Eastern League after that loss, finishing league play with a record of 7-1-4. The successes in Eastern League play included sweeps over league rivals Morse and San Diego. The Pointers finished 8-1 at home. In addition to the post-season advancement, five Pointers received All-Eastern League honors last week: Shelby Murphy, junior Bianca Perez, senior Amelia Whitaker and freshmen Veronica Perez and Marie Laube. Shelby Murphy has already committed to the University of Michigan. Perez scored three goals and recorded one assist; Whitaker contributed an assist. Bianca’s sister, Veronica, scored four goals with three assists and Laube had two assists. “Right now we are recovering,” said Shelby Murphy. “We’re fatigued from the Saturday game but we’re still pushing. We’re looking forward to the Helix game. Hopefully we don’t let our fans down.” The Point Loma players now have their eyes on a bigger prize with CIF finals one hurdle away. “Overall, the intensity has been great,” said John Murphy. “It was nice to see (PLHS players) dominate in the second half (against Hilltop) and play a complete game. We are peaking at the right time.” The Pointers reached the playoffs in 2008 but were eliminated in the quarter-final round. According to Shelby Murphy, the Pointers are on a mission to win the CIF title this year. “This is the furthest we’ve been since I’ve been here and we’ve had such great support from the community,” she said.