Margaret Zahrah notches a hat trick as Young tops Taft

Young got out fast right out of the gate and didn’t let Taft get any offensive rhythm as it breezed to a 5-1 win in the Public League quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Lane.

The Dolphins had the Eagles on their heels, getting off four shots in the first nine minutes, with sophomore Margaret Zahrah knocking in the first goal of her hat trick at the 8:35 mark.

But Young wouldn’t rest. The Dolphins controlled much of the possession in the first half, not allowing the Eagles to get deep enough into the Dolphin side of the field to get a shot off.

Ten minutes later, Esme Kline took a ball in the middle of the box and put a ball away that would turn out to be all goalie Rachel Hobart would need. Zahrah knocked home her second goal at the 23:27 mark.

“I’ve never had a hat trick that I can remember, especially not in the playoffs,’’ Zahrah said. “It was pretty fun to get one today. Some Cinco de Mayo happiness.’’

Zahrah completed her hat trick in the 47th minute, as she looped a ball over the goalie’s head from the far left side. Mia Espino scored 10 minutes later to make it 5-0.

After being dominated for the first 56 minutes of the match, the Eagles gained some momentum and got off their first two shots in the 55th and 58th minutes.

“Towards the end of the match we started to try a bunch of new formations out, so we weren’t pressing as much,’’ Zahrah said. “It was good to get players in there who don’t get a chance to play often. We also got to try out some new plays and formations for the future.’’

Megan Maveda scored Taft’s goal at 63:15.

Young moves on to play Payton in the semifinals on Tuesday.