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PUYALLUP -- Coaches are used to getting second-guessed by players, parents and fans.
Hugo Garcia, the Connell girls soccer coach, can live with that, even after the Eagles absorbed a painful 5-4 shootout loss to Overlake after a 90-minute 1-1 draw Tuesday in the 1A state semifinals at Sparks Stadium.
What made for a truly restless night for Garcia is, this time, the second-guessing came from within.
The esteemed coach, now in his ninth season of guiding the girls program, blamed himself for a tactical error that he believes could have led to the game-tying goal by the Owls with 11 minutes remaining in regulation.
"This (loss) is the toughest of all," said Garcia, who guided Connell to a state title in 2003 but lost in the semifinals in 2002 and 2004. "When we were ahead 1-0, I tried to make an adjustment.
"I was going to drop Brianna (Casper) back on defense, but I didn't do it quick enough."
Overlake midfielder Allison Risa ran up on a cross from Quinn Phillips in the 69th minute and drove the ball into the back of the net from 25 yards, tying the score at 1.
"Brianna has the same speed (as Risa)," Garcia said of Casper, who was a central defender for three years before switching to forward this season. "She might have stopped her from making shots."
Perhaps Garcia doesn't need to be so hard on himself, considering that Connell was outshot 30-3 by Overlake.
It seemed miraculous that one of the Owls shots hadn't found the net before Casper corralled a throw-in from Kala Koelzer in the 59th minute and drilled a low shot past Overlake goalkeeper Ceci Votta for a 1-0 lead. The play developed so quickly that she scarcely had time to think about where to place the shot.
"I do better if I don't think," said Casper, who scored her 22nd goal of the season and fourth of the playoffs.
The goal gave Connell a boost of energy and confidence, even though it didn't have much of an effect on the cavalcade of Overlake opportunities. Still, it was a lead.
"We were thinking, 'Oh yes. We can do this,' " Casper said.
The Owls (17-1-3) will play for their first-ever state championship against Seattle Academy (16-2-1) at 2 p.m. today. The Eagles (18-4) will face Bush (13-6-1) -- which lost to Seattle Academy 3-0 in the other semifinal -- at 10 a.m.
"It's hard because this was only our second time playing on turf. We've got battle scars everywhere," said Connell goalkeeper Maci Whitby, who made nine saves in regulation and overtime before facing her fifth shootout of the year. "No matter how much you practice shootouts, it's always going to be a 50-50 proposition."
In the Owls' case, it was 100 percent after converting each of their kicks through the first five rounds. The Eagles hit their first four shots but missed their fifth-round kick -- a low roller from Yessenia Gonzaga that went wide left.
It was a tough spot for Gonzaga, a sophomore forward who was thrust into the No. 5 spot after Sarah McGary sustained a concussion late in the game and left the match.
McGary, a senior midfielder, will not play in today's consolation game. That's bad news for Garcia, but he is still hoping for a strong finish.
"It's been special to make it this far with this group," he said. "We want to give the seniors something to remember."
