AUBURN — Tarynn Keleher helped send Monmouth Academy to a regional final for the first time in seven years.

The senior striker scored in the 22nd minute of the second half to give the third-seeded Mustangs a 1-0 victory over second-seeded St. Dominic Academy in a Class D South girls soccer semifinal at Edward Little High School.

Monmouth will play in the regional final for the first time since 2017, when it beat St. Dom’s in the Class C South semifinal. The Mustangs eventually lost to Madison 2-1 in overtime.

“I can’t even put it into words. That was just the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my entire life. This is what we’ve been practicing for this, this is everything to us,” Keleher said. “I have no words.”

Monmouth coach Gary Trafton said he couldn’t have asked more from his team.

“Great team effort all around,” said Trafton, whose team improved to 8-8. “There was no number one star on that team out there. It was all great effort.”

St. Dom’s bid to defend its regional championship came to an end, but coach Jarrod Carnick said he was pleased with how the Saints (8-5-2) played.

“Well, we knew there could only be one winner,” Carnick said. “You hate to be that team that doesn’t get the result, but someone’s got to lose. I can’t fault the effort. The players did an amazing job. And just unfortunately, Monmouth brought a little bit more to the table today.”

Hayli Paradis set up the game-winning goal when her touch pass went toward Keleher, who chased down the ball in the 18-yard box. Keleher’s shot beat St. Dom’s goalkeeper Anna Theriault (three saves).

“Hayli Paradis, she passed it right through and she just barely got a foot on it,” Keleher said. “Went through both defenders and I was on the opposite side of the defender, backside and I just ran right through and tapped it right by the goalie.”

The Saints, who had chances earlier in the half, pressed to get the equalizer, but couldn’t get a shot on goal.

Monmouth Academy’s Peyton McDonald pushes the ball up the field during Friday’s game against St. Dominic in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Monmouth keeper Lily Carlton made three saves.

“We changed the shape a little bit to start the second half, and I thought it was working for you know the first 20 or so,” Carnick said.

The Mustangs kept the ball in the Saints’ defensive zone in the final five minutes to secure the win.

“We couldn’t get out of our own corner and the wind wasn’t helping, either,” Carnick said.

The first staff started in quiet fashion, with the Mustangs controlling most of the possession time. Monmouth had a few opportunities, including a shot that went over the crossbar early in the half, and Peyton McDonald made two shot attempts in the final 10 minutes.

“We had a great opportunity for the first a couple of minutes of the game,” Trafton said. “We outplayed them in the first half, I thought. The second half, they came after us and we just kept going after it and finally got that shot we needed and poked it in.”

The Saints beat the Mustangs 1-0 in overtime in their first meeting Oct. 19.

“Really, it was just our mindsets,” Keleher said. “We have to have a good mindset going into this. We know they’re beatable. Like it’s not, it’s not hard. They are beatable. We played with them so good the first time and then this time it was it was even better.”