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ORANGE — Villa Park forward Rylie Whittaker didn’t want to face JSerra again in penalty kicks.

The sophomore wanted her revenge in regulation Wednesday night, and her determination showed in a spectacular, game-winning goal late in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1 girls soccer playoffs.

Whittaker scored in the 81st minute on a spinning shot off her own trap in the penalty box to lift the third-seeded Spartans to a dramatic 3-2 victory at El Modena High.

The slick dribbling Whittaker finished with two goals to the help the Spartans (16-2-4) avenged a loss in penalty kicks to JSerra (11-5-4) in the finals of the Best in the West tournament earlier in the season.

“I kind of just hoped that we didn’t go to PK’s again,” said Whittaker, who had a her penalty shot blocked in the Best in the West finale against the Lions on Dec. 17.

Villa Park will play host to Redondo, a 4-2 winner against Huntington Beach in another first round match, in the quarterfinals Tuesday at El Modena at 5 p.m.

Whittaker started the decisive sequence by trapping a throw into the box by defender Sydner Byrnes off her chest to her feet. With her back to the JSerra goal, she quickly spun toward the inside post and unleashed a cross-cage shot with her right foot that found the far, upper corner.

“Only the best can do that,” Byrnes said of the goal. “It’s a very hard shot.”

Whittaker’s seventh goal of the season arrived at just the right moment for Villa Park. JSerra scored twice in the second half — in the 68th and 73rd minutes — to tie the score at 2-2. The Lions seemed to have all the momentum.

“It’s hard to respond like that,” Villa Park coach Breanna Carrillo said of her team’s recovery. “It definitely took some heart and character to come back.”

JSerra coach Anjel Brown credited her young team for its resolve in the second half.

Sophomore goalie Daphne Nakfoor made several impressive saves to keep Villa Park from extending its lead. She blocked a redirect in front of the net with her foot in the 53rd minute and soared to deflect a hard strike by Whittaker over the cage in the 59th minute.

The saves bought JSerra time before freshman forward Maya Woolforde scored on a counterattack and junior Chelsea Loeser tied the score on a rebound off a shot by freshman forward Peyton Marinos.

“For us to even battle it out with four or five freshmen on the field,” Brown said, “I just couldn’t be more proud.”

Villa Park scored twice in the first eight minutes to take a 2-0 lead.

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Byrnes scored on a low shot to the near corner from about 23 yards in the second minute. It was her third goal of the season.

Whittaker followed in the eighth minute by putting away a left-foot shot on an assist by Savey Holley, who dribbled the ball from the sideline deep into the box before passing back to Whittaker for the almost center-cage shot.

Holley, an Arizona commit who recently returned from a knee injury, played winger to power a front line with Whittaker and senior Rylee Lewis.

Byrnes said her team won the more important of its two showdowns with JSerra this winter. “Because we want to win CIF,” she said with a smile.