Natalie Punal scores 3

WELLINGTON — It appears defending class 6A champion Wellington is playing its best soccer at the perfect time.

The Wolverines defeated the Park Vista Cobras 5-1 Thursday night in the regional quarterfinals behind a hat trick from sophomore forward Natalie Punal.

Wellington controlled the match from the outset and set the tone early when Melissa Welch headed in a goal off a throw in by Alexis Jurado five minutes into the match for a 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, the Wolverines (17-5-2, No. 3 Post Top 10) increased their lead to 2-0 when Punal drilled a shot into the right side of the net from 15 yards out.

Punal struck again with seven minutes remaining in the first half, this time finding the left side of the net with a shot that glanced off of the Park Vista goalkeeper, giving the Wolverines a 3-0 edge at halftime.

The Wellington defense held the Cobras to just one shot on goal in the first half.

The second half brought much of the same for both teams. Punal, who suffered two concussions this season, scored her third goal with 32 minutes left, this time off of a perfect crossing pass by Welch, making the score 4-0 Wellington.

"I feel like I'm finally starting to play my game," Punal said. "It's been a tough season, but we had to win this game."

With 14 minutes remaining, Punal almost scored again, but her shot was just wide left. Wellington senior captain Sarah Lenhart took control of the ball and centered it to Welch, who knocked it home for her second goal of the match and a 5-0 Wolverine lead.

"We are on such a high right now that it's really showing on the field," Wellington coach Fern Brewer said. "Natalie is starting to release it more and the rest of the team is following her lead."

The Cobras (15-5-4) scored with two minutes left when sophomore Stephanie Peck blasted a shot by Wellington goalkeeper Samantha Bandremer.

The Wolverines advance to face Boca Raton in Tuesday's regional semifinal.