Visualization is a great technique to prepare athletes for big moments.

It slows the breathing. Focuses the mind. Allows the body to perform at an optimal level.

It’s proven to be successful and those who use it go as far as seeing the opposition’s uniform, the fans, and just about everything else.

Casteel senior Landri Steenhard uses mental imagery to prepare for big games.

And she did before the Colts return to the Monday’s Open Division girls soccer championship.

Although not quite sure where excitedly hopping while running toward euphoric teammates falls in the visualization process, but that’s how Steenhard and No. 2 Casteel finished the season after her winning penalty kick gave the program a 5-4 win over No. 5 Xavier at Mesa High.

“I turned and looked and all I saw was them running toward me, excited and yelling,” she said. “I don’t know what I did but I wanted to get to them and start celebrating.”

It’s exactly how it played out after the two teams – in a rematch of last year’s inaugural Open championship won by Xavier – played to a 1-1 tie in regulation and no one scored in the 20 extra minutes of overtime.

“I practice penalty kicks every day after practice,” Steenhard said. “I have my move – left corner – that I go to. Before the match, I visualize me having success. Scoring a goal and celebrating. And it’s exactly how it happened.”

The penalty kick format puts the pressure squarely on individuals. The ball is placed dead center. The goalie does her best to distract while locking in at the same time. Just 12 yards away.

Whistle blows.

They read body language. A lean this way. A hip turn. Eyes give it away or the foot plant. Maybe the hips.

“It’s the luck of the draw,” Casteel goalie Kendall Pechacek said. “You try and pick up on something and react.”

And then it happens. The results unfold. One-by-one.

One team will collapse in exhaustion and being emotionally leveled. The other in hysterics, winning the state title.

Both squads missed the first attempt. Then made three straight. Xavier came up short on the fifth attempt when Pechacek slid on both knees to her right to get her second save of the PKs.

She happens to use visualization as well. But maybe more importantly she plays club ball with six of the Gators with the Utah Stars. It turned out to be the winning formula.

Visualizing the saves, knowing the tendencies.   

“I see my self tipping the ball over the net or diving the make the save,” Pechacek said. “During warmups, I take the time to see myself being successful, making saves and celebrating.”

Oh, the Colts celebrated.

It was their third state championship, matching the 2020 and 2022 squads as Casteel (16-1) made the finals for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.

It was nice getback against the Gators, who won last year’s Open title game 2-1 in overtime against the Colts.

“As soon as we found out we were playing them we knew we wanted revenge,” Pechacek said. “They are a great team, but we knew this was our year. Nothing was going to stop us.”

As far as Xavier (14-2-1) goes, they’ve been on ends of PKs, but usually come out on top. The Gators made their state record 20th state title appearance and had a string of five straight state title snapped with hopes of tying the record of six set by Seton Catholic, which won from 2002 to 2007.

For this season, Xavier came up a bit short after senior Olivia Yu scored – her 18th of the year - with just under 3 minutes to tie it at 1-all when she rushed, despite a sore knee, from the left side and beat Pechacek to the right post.

After the two scoreless 10-minute overtimes, it came down to the penalty kicks and the Gators didn’t have enough to get past the Colts.

“Soccer is a cruel sport,” Xavier coach Barbra Chura said. “I think we out played them on the field, but we just couldn’t finish some of the opportunities we had.”

The defeat ends a tremendous run, but Chura said this team is just as good as the previous winners. The final circumstances were just a little different this time around.

“I’m proud of this team,” she said. “They play as team and not individuals. We don’t have those type of players. They play for each other.”

The Colts refocused after ending the regular season with a loss to Hamilton. They played without Pechacek and sophomore Tatum Gardner, who had the first-half goal in regulation on a PK with just over 25 minutes left in the half, in the only loss of the season.

But it pushed the Colts for more.

“We came back to practice and went to work,” senior defender Ally Stone said. “It was probably something we needed at the time. I feel like we played with more of chip after that.”

It set up the big win on Monday as the defense in front of Pechacek was nearly impeccable for 77 minutes, while Chloe Masters, Gardner, Sydney Lewis, and Steenhard made their penalty kicks to set off the wild celebration.

“You dream of having that chance someday when you start playing,” Steenhard said. “I envisioned it happening so many times. We’ve lost in penalty kicks (in the finals) my freshman year, and I didn’t want my senior end the same way.”