Before every soccer game, Centennial junior Khyah Harper dresses with the same spandex shorts under her uniform shorts, sports bra and ponytail. She puts her sock, shin guard and shoe on her right foot before doing the same with her left.

It’s the same routine for every game.

“If I don’t do them, then I don’t feel like I will play as good,” Harper said. “I’m just really superstitious. I just think that when I do it that the team will do better, and I will do better overall.”

Whether it’s her superstitious gear or her speedy talent, Harper scored her second goal of the Class 2A girls’ soccer state quarterfinal with 23 seconds left in overtime. It lifted Centennial to a 2-1 victory over Lakeville South on Tuesday at Farmington High School.

Harper, a Star Tribune All-Metro first-team selection, has scored 25 goals this season, including nine in postseason and a hat trick in the section final.

The winning goal came after a corner kick, using a set play Centennial works on in practice, according to Harper. She accepted a short pass and dribbled a bit before shooting the ball into the net.

Her power can be matched with most of the boys’ teams, Centennial coach Ginger Flohaug said.

“It’s usually in the back of the net before the goalie knows that she even struck it,” Flohaug said.

The No. 2 seed Centennial (17-2-0) took a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute on Harper’s first goal on a shot to the upper corner of the goal. The lead held up until Lakeville South senior forward Sammy Ponsonby tied it 1-1 in the 44th minute to provide some momentum for her team.

The Centennial goals were just the sixth and seventh allowed this season by Lakeville South (15-2-2), which saw its 10-game unbeaten streak come to an end.