Grace Bennett bolted from The Classical Academy’s goal to midfield to celebrate with her teammates Wednesday night.

The Air Academy freshman had a chance to tie the game for the No. 27-seeded Kadets in the first half, but her shot bounced off the crossbar.

Bennett would not miss again.

Just 27 seconds into overtime, Bennett sent the No. 6-seeded Titans home in a 2-1 win at The Classical Academy to help the Kadets advance to the second round of the 4A girls soccer playoffs.

“We’ve been battled tested, we had to win pretty much every game to even get into the playoffs,” said Air Academy coach Espen Hosoien. “We were confident we could give TCA a good game and I thought we were outstanding in the second half.”

The Titans (11-2-2) had allowed just 4 goals all season and hadn’t allowed multiple scores in a game since May 10, 2023.

However, the Titans have also struggled against Air Academy (6-5-3) and have not beaten the Kadets since TCA earned a 1-0 win April 27, 2019.

Bennett ensured the Titans didn’t break that streak during the postseason.

Moments into overtime, Bennett received the ball and bolted down the left touchline toward the Titans’ goal.

Bennett pushed toward the Titans’ net but was surrounded by a sea of TCA jerseys.

“I was trying to get in line, but I looked up and I saw too many people in the box,” Bennett said. “I believed in our group to finish it. … The ball bounced around and fortunately for us we got a goal. It was a good team effort. I got a good pass from my teammate and I was thinking about how we could finish the game.”

Bennett managed the clincher despite playing injured in the second half.

During Bennett’s dash toward TCA’s net in the final seconds of the first half, she collided with a Titans’ player after her shot and clutched left side as she dropped to the pitch.

Trainers escorted Bennett off the field and the freshman said she hurt her left ankle and ribs.

For Langley Grow, that fueled her protective instincts and prepared her for the second half.

“When people take out my player, that gets me going,” Grow said. “I’m like, ‘Hey, that’s my player! Keep your hands off.’ Her going so fast and trying her hardest at the end of the first was a big boost for us going into the second half.”

While the Titans scored five minutes into the game in the first half, Grow needed just three minutes to tie the contest at 1-1 in the second.

“We definitely had a good halftime speech from coach,” Grow said. “Coach told us that our first half wasn’t good. We were all excited to play, but we were in our heads about it. He told us that we had time to score and we’re capable of winning the game.”

The Titans and Kadets finished with identical stats in the second half: six shots, four on goal, three saves and three corner kicks.

But Bennett said the Kadets had a special mentality that they’ve had all season to propel them to the postseason and, now, into the second round.

“We’ve battled all season and this game was a perfect example of that,” Bennett said. “We had to overcome some adversity and we got through it. That’s just an example of how hard we worked to get here and we’re stronger together now as a group.”

The Kadets will face No. 22 Ponderosa in the second round Saturday at a time to be determined.