CLARION — Being the favored team to win a district title and actually earning it on the field are two different things.

For the second straight season and 16th time in 19 years, the Karns City girls soccer team earned District 9 gold.

The Gremlins featured a trio of players who scored twice in a decisive 7-0 Class A victory over DuBois Central Catholic on the rain-soaked turf at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium Thursday night.

KC (20-0) has now gone undefeated against District 9 opponents in back-to-back seasons.

“Our players were enthusiastic about playing tonight,” said Gremlins’ coach Lisa Castiglione. “They treated this like a championship game and I’m proud of their effort.”

It is the second straight title for Morgan Deal as KC’s starting goalkeeper.

“I love all these girls,” said Deal, a senior. “They are like sisters to me. This feels amazing.”

Brianna Brusamonti, Breann Wood and Emily LoPresti each had a pair of goals while Megan McCartney found the net once against Cardinals’ goalkeeper Kylee Schaffer, who made 15 saves in the game.

Brusamonti’s tallies came just three minutes apart early in the first half to give Karns City a 2-0 lead.

“She has scored some big goals for us in big games,” said Castiglione of her sophomore midfielder. “She’s starting to feel that shot from the midfield and is getting more confident.”

Karns City’s defenders gobbled up almost everything that resembled a scoring chance for the Cardinals as Deal was forced to make just two saves in the game.

“My defense is able to move the ball quickly,” Deal said. “They communicate and work well together.”

Much of the first 40 minutes was played in a driving rain, but that didn’t stop the Gremlins from leading 4-0 at halftime. KC received two second-half goals from Wood — just 20 seconds apart — before LoPresti’s second score in the 67th minute capped the winning margin.

LoPresti, a junior forward, has been a starter since her freshman campaign. That year, KC fell 2-1 to Curwensville in the district final.

“I was so disappointed when we lost that season,” she said. “To win two straight championships, it feels great.”

DuBois Central, which was making its first-ever appearance in the district title game, finishes the year with an overall record of 13-7.

“It was an awesome season for us,” said Cardinals’ coach Rusty Meyers. “We knew before the season that Karns City was the team to beat and they stomped us tonight. But our girls are still happy with what we accomplished this year.”

Karns City’s latest title is a fitting reward for a team with much skill and a special bond.

“We usually start off-season work in January or February,” said Castiglione. “I try to give the players enough time off so they don’t get burned out, but other than that, we’re about as close as a family.”

The Gremlins will begin play in the state playoffs Tuesday against the second place team from the WPIAL — either Greensburg Central Catholic (17-1) or Shady Side Academy (17-3) — at a time and site to be determined.

The only three seasons in which Karns City has failed to win the District 9 title in the last 19 years are 1997, 2007 and 2011.