Ripon reached the Sac-Joaquin Section final round for the first time in program history, and its senior goalie was a big reason why.

On Nov. 9, Brubaker and the second-seeded Indians squared off with No. 3 Christian Brothers in the Division III semifinals held at Johansen High of Modesto. The senior frustrated the Falcons with her shot-stopping abilities, coming up with 18 saves including three on penalty throws. She even contributed to the attack with two assists.

Brubaker’s effort was key especially after Ripon had lost two of its top scorers to ejections.

The tide-turning moment came early, as Christian Brothers trailed 2-1 but had a chance to tie it with a penalty shot in the first quarter. That was when Brubaker notched the first of her three penalty saves, and on this play she fired an outlet pass to Taylor Blair to set up a long-range goal.

“We spent countless hours in the pool, working our butts off doing everything we could just to get to this point,” Delaney Brubaker said after the win. “And to be able to succeed, it’s so exciting.”

Ripon went on to put up a good fight against top-seeded Dixon in the title round Saturday, falling 4-3. The Indians then lost to Lodi in the NorCal Division III opener on Tuesday.