A second-half surge propelled the Issaquah Eagles to a victory against the Curtis Vikings in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Trailing 2-1 with 21 minutes left in regulation, the Eagles scored two goals down the stretch, earning a comeback 3-2 victory on Nov. 14 at Curtis High School in University Place. Issaquah’s Mariah Van Halm tied the game at 2-2 with a line drive shot in the upper right corner in the 60th minute of play.

Eagles forward Claudia Longo scored the go-ahead goal on a corner kick in the 66th minute. Longo’s shot curved perfectly into the far post just out of reach of the Curtis goalie. Longo said she wasn’t necessarily trying to score on the play but was trying to give her a team a chance to cash in on a golden opportunity.

“I was just trying to put a good ball in, because I knew my team would be there. It happened to go in,” Longo said. “It was a great team effort today. Everyone did their job. It was awesome.”

Eagles’ head coach Tom Bunnell said Longo always has been a clutch player.

“She is pretty special with stuff like that,” Bunnell said. “She waited for the right time.”

Longo wasn’t the only individual who unveiled a heroic performance. In stoppage time, Curtis had a chance to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime. Issaquah goalie Anna Miller got caught away from the goal and Curtis unleashed a shot that appeared to be en route to the game tying equalizer. Before the ball could cross the line, Issaquah’s Kirstie Johnson hustled and cleared the ball just inches before it became a goal, preserving Issaquah’s 3-2 win.

“That was gigantic,” Bunnell said of Johnson’s play. “It was just the nature of the game. It was a crazy game back and forth. We knew they were going to give us some crazy pressure. They got good players all over the place. We didn’t let up the whole game, which makes me really happy. We have been talking about no matter if we are up or if we are down to just play 80 minutes and hopefully the result is the right one.”

The Eagles will face the Camas Papermakers in the Class 4A semi-finals at Sparks Stadium in downtown Puyallup Nov. 20 at 8 p.m.

“We are psyched to go back to the final four. We get a chance to play for a trophy. Life is great right now,” Bunnell said.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@issaquahreporter.com