Benton forward Ivory Baldwin didn’t look that imposing as she streaked up the right sideline at Alumni Stadium.

Then she got her feet on the ball.

The pint-sized Cardinal blasted in three consecutive goals, each one harder than the next, and led her team to a 4-2 victory against Maryville in the Class 1 District 16 semifinals. Benton will take on city rival Bishop LeBlond in Wednesday’s final.

“She’ll score a goal, and that just makes her angry — more focused,” Benton coach Dustin Benner said. “Once she gets into it like that, she’ll starting launching it.”

Baldwin, who moved up to striker from the midfield earlier in the year, struggled along with the rest of the Cardinals’ sputtering offense in the first half. Playing into a strong headwind, Benton (9-9) managed only five shots and came up empty every time against Maryville keeper Erica Espey.

On the other end, a 20th minute goal by Ashley Blanchard staked the Spoofhounds to a 1-0 halftime lead.

“I knew we were capable of a big half. I just didn’t know if the girls wanted it enough,” Benner said. “It turns out they did.”

Baldwin got rolling when she took a Heavin Warner pass in traffic and found the far corner in the 43rd minute. After a touch shot dribbled through for her second score, Baldwin drove her final ball straight at and right past Espey.

“I knew we were down, and I knew I needed to step up,” said Baldwin, whose hat trick was the first of her career. “I was just ready, and I didn’t want this to be the end of our season.”

Staci Rock’s 71st minute goal gave the Cardinals a much-needed insurance goal.

Maryville (11-10) threatened in the waning minutes with a pair of penalty kicks in the 76th and 77th minutes — which both came as a result of Benton hand balls. Ali Ackman took both opportunities but could only convert the first. Benton keeper Morgan Brown calmly scooped up the second attempt to record her eighth save and leave her team with adequate breathing room.

“It’s almost an impossible position to be in, but she held her ground and came up with the save,” Benner said.

With the wind at their backs, the Cardinals doubled their number of shots (10) in the second half, while Maryville’s dwindled to just five. The Spoofhounds caught a couple of bad breaks along the way, as well. Megan Thacker’s 70th-minute shot deflected off the post, and an earlier Maryville goal was wiped out because of a Spoofhounds’ hand ball in the penalty area.

LeBlond 4, Savannah 1

First and foremost, LeBlond freshman Erin Christiansen was responsible for shutting down the ever-dangerous Kate Gallagher.

She went above and beyond her defensive duties, however, and notched three goals in the Golden Eagles’ convincing win.

“We’ve been waiting for that all season, honestly,” LeBlond coach Ken Girard said. “That was not her role today, but she took it upon herself and it was great to watch.”

Christiansen went top shelf twice against Kelsey Adams, the Savages’ stingy keeper, to bookend her first hat trick. On her first goal, Christiansen took a through ball from Jocelyn VanVickle on the left side and buried it with a powerful left-footed stroke to give LeBlond (11-9) a lead it wouldn’t give back.

“(Adams) is really tough, so you know you had to get a good shot to put it by her,” Christiansen said. “I pretty much put everything I had into it and hoped for the best.”

Christiansen also scored on a corner kick that curved in and deflected off Adams, who recorded six saves and faced relentless pressure.

Hounded by Christiansen, Gallagher slammed in a second-half shot for Savannah (10-10) just under the crossbar but sat for long stretches in each half because of a nagging knee injury.

LeBlond owns a 2-0 record against Benton this season but still has plenty of motivation. The Cardinals ended LeBlond’s season in district play each of the past three seasons.

“Everybody’s really happy today, but we have to watch out for Benton because we know they’re really going to want it, too,” Christiansen said.

The Golden Eagles will have to win their first title without senior Kim Girard, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury May 5 against Kansas City Lutheran.

Sports reporter Andy Meyer can be reached at andymeyer@npgco.com