Ashley Kozlowski of St. Anthony's, left, celebrates her goal with Leana Ruiz and...

Ashley Kozlowski of St. Anthony's, left, celebrates her goal with Leana Ruiz and Kaleigh Darby during the CHSAA state girls soccer semifinals at Aviator Field in Brooklyn on Saturday. Credit: Neil Miller

Ashley Kozlowski could feel the frustration setting in after her team was held scoreless in the first half on Saturday and in desperate search of answers.

When the St. Anthony’s girls soccer star returned from halftime, she channeled that emotion into possibly her greatest half in a Friars uniform.

Kozlowski netted three goals in the next 26 minutes, powering St. Anthony’s to a 3-2 victory over Xaverian in a CHSAA Class AA state semifinal at Aviator Field in Brooklyn.

“I wasn’t happy with how we played in the first half,” Kozlowski said. “I was playing out of anger in the second half, and I just wanted it so bad.”

St. Anthony’s (14-2-2), the four-time defending state champion, will return to Aviator Field on Sunday at noon to play St. Mary’s (Lancaster) in the state final.

“For us seniors, we knew that we couldn’t finish out with a loss in the semifinals,” said Amanda Dolan, who helped anchor the St. Anthony’s defense throughout the day.

Entering Saturday with 14 goals this season, Kozlowski completed the hat trick with 14:22 remaining, receiving a pass from Chloe Koubel and firing it inside the right post from about 10 yards out for a 3-1 St. Anthony’s lead.

“Big players come up in big moments,” St. Anthony’s coach Sue Alber said of Kozlowski. “She’s a big-time player, All-American and when we needed her the most she came out and scored those three goals. The goals and what led up to them were both top-notch.”

Xaverian opened the scoring with 10:43 remaining in the first half when Julianna Javier headed in a corner kick, taking a 1-0 advantage into the break. 

Kozlowski tied it in the first minute of the second half, heading in a goal off a cross near the left corner from Leana Ruiz.

The go-ahead goal came with 22:35 remaining on another Kozlowski header off Lilyana Baldi’s cross near the right sideline for a 2-1 lead.

“I had a bad angle to shoot so I just saw Ashley and crossed it,” Baldi said. “I know she’s really good in the air. It was a good connection. She was amazing and always comes through for us.”

Chelsea Monderson tapped in a goal with 4:28 remaining to cut the St. Anthony’s lead to 3-2, but the Friars cleared the ball on Xaverian’s last two possessions to seal the victory.

Kozlowski discussed the significance of her final state championship appearance on Sunday.

“It would mean so much for us to win,” Kozlowski said. “We’ve kept this streak of winning States for four years now, and us seniors want to end off on a good note.”

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