Miller Place girls soccer Natalia Soler lifts team past Center Moriches

Natalia Soler wasn’t going to let this one get away.

The Miller Place senior had multiple 1-on-1 opportunities with just her and the goalkeeper with the defense trailing early on Saturday. But Soler wasn’t able to finish her early chances. With the score tied and the match nearing its conclusion, Soler knew if she had another chance with just the goalie in front, she needed to finish it.

Soler did just that.

The senior emerged free one more time with her breakaway speed, and this time she sent the ball to the bottom-left corner for the winning goal as host Miller Place defeated Center Moriches, 2-1, in Suffolk Division III girls soccer on Saturday morning.

“I knew if I didn’t get this one, it’s going to overtime or (a loss), so I had to get it in the back of the net,” Soler said. “I almost started crying, I literally jumped and I’m beyond happy.”

Soler scored with 10:17 left in the second half to break a tie at 1 after being stopped on previous 1-on-1 runs.

“I really had to focus on placement,” Soler said. “I just had to go forward and win this game. All I thought was going forward and getting that goal.”

Miller Place was playing without five starters thanks to injuries, illnesses and conflicts, coach Sara Kaiser said. But Kaiser knew she could rely on Soler.

“She had a bunch of breakaways, but she didn’t give up,” Kaiser said. “It’s mindset over everything, she really put away that last opportunity and I’m really proud of her and the team.”

Miller Place (3-3-1, 2-3-1) struck first when Lily McGrath scored with 13:11 left in the first half off a scramble following Violet Dvorsky’s corner kick.

Center Moriches (1-5-1, 1-4-1) answered when Sara Amaya perfectly placed a 25-yard strike into the top-right corner with 37:45 left in the second half.

“They came to play today,” Kaiser said. “They were prepared. This was a big win today . . . They played with heart and they played with passion.”

With homecoming scheduled for later on Saturday, Soler and her teammates wanted to start the important day for the community off strong.

“We had to defend our home field,” Soler said. “We knew we had this in the bag. We knew we were the better team and we knew we could get another goal, so we just kept going forward. We didn’t put our heads down and that’s the thing about this team. Nobody puts their head down. This team is definitely different this year.”