Jasmine Bustos was determined not to leave the PSAL Division B girls soccer finals on Randall’s Island without a championship.
The Queens High School of Teaching girls soccer senior forward has netted more than 70 goals in her high school career, and was third in the entire city with 40 goals this season, but the championship game was her last chance to add a high school title to her resume before graduation.
Bustos earned her crown by pulling off a hat trick, leading the Tigers to a 4-0 win over the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts Lady Legends on Saturday.
“It’s my last year and I really wanted this,” Bustos said, “I knew we had to pull it off this game or that was it.”
Bustos scored two goals in the second half and one in the first to give the Tigers a secure lead. Her third goal came in the 54th minute after she skillfully received a pass, weaved through defenders, ran up the right flank and blasted a rocket shot, which ricocheted off the goalie’s hands into the net.
That final goal came just eight minutes after her second, in which she dribbled around two defenders and hooked a shot on the opposite side of the diving goalkeeper.
“Just score, because it’s all for the team,” Bustos said she was thinking all game. But she added, “I didn’t think I was going to score three this game.”
Coming into the match head coach Alfonso Fernandez had a few words for his players.
“I told the girls to be strong,” he said.
The girls executed aggressively, just as Fernandez ordered. Bustos netted her first goal in the 12th minute and junior Makenzie Saborowski scored a goal later in the half. Saborowski smashed a free kick from about 35 yards out that floated perfectly over the goalie and found the back of the net.
“I knew it was going in,” she said. “I was aiming for the goal.”
During the season, the Tigers battled Frank Sinatra for the top of the Queens B-V conference. The teams tied as the regular season champions, each with a record of 11-1. The one loss each team had was a result of the split in their two previous matches.
The chilly championship game served as a decisive end for the rivals, and HS of Teaching dominated.
“I am very excited, because they’ve worked so hard all year,” HS of Teaching principal Jae Cho said. “Coach Alfonzo has really dedicated a lot of time to the girls. I am really happy to see the results of their hard work.”
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