The Menlo girls’ soccer team used a second-half charge to beat Terra Linda-San Rafael 3-1 at home Tuesday, and earn a trip to the CIF Div. IV NorCal Semifinals.

The No. 3 seeded Knights play at No. 2 Twelve Bridges-Lincoln at 5:00 pm on Thursday.

The teams were tied 0-0 at the half with Menlo leading possession. Knights senior Julia Axelrod was first, turning then firing in a goal from the center with 37:42 left. Three minutes later, fellow senior Krista Arreola delivered a goal off an Axelrod assist, and the Knights led 2-0.

Terra Linda scored with seven minutes left in the game to draw within a goal.

Senior Bianca Putanec made a couple saves in the waning minutes before freshman Anna Kossow took two touches to score on an Arreola assist and the Knights secured the 3-1 win.

Low-scoring affairs were the trend for Menlo, which had recorded a 4-1-5 record in its last 10 games, outscored its opponents 9-5 since a 4-0 win over Crystal. 

““We have struggled to score,” Menlo coach Ross Ireland said. “Our goal scoring, I think they had 23 in 28 games, which is quite low. But we have such an amazingly stingy defense, which is why we’ve been so effective. That gives them confidence that they can do it again.”