GRANITE BAY, Calif. – Senior attacker Holland Sperber scored the game's lone goal for the second time in as many games while sophomore goalkeeper Mia Rabinovitz tallied five saves as St. Francis shut out Granite Bay, 1-0, in the varsity portion of a Sierra Foothill League girls' soccer tripleheader Thursday night.

The Troubadours improve to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in SFL play, recording their seventh consecutive win in the process. The Grizzlies, last year's NorCal Division II champions, slip to 3-2 for the year and 0-2 in league games.

Sperber's goal came in the wake of a set piece in the 20th minute. Sophomore Tallas Schaedler drew a foul just outside the box along the left side, and senior Miley Blough handled the ensuing free kick. The Nevada commit managed to put the initial ball on frame, only for GB goalkeeper Piper Brown to come in for the stop. However, the ball landed in front of Sperber for the tap-in goal, with Blough earning the assist.

The score held up the rest of the way, as Brown proceeded to post four of her eight total saves down the stretch of the first half. Meanwhile, Rabinovitz turned back four shots in the second half to protect the lead, including a leaping save against Camryn Savig's free kick in the 47th. Rabinovitz added three stops across the final eight minutes of the contest for her eighth shutout of the season – just one shy of her 2024-25 total.

St. Francis had numerous opportunities to add to its lead in the second half, with Brown largely spoiling those efforts. Lily Hall had a hard blast gloved in the 57th. Three minutes later ,Azaria Agbodike fired a shot that GB junior Rebecca Wilson blocked out of harm's way. Then Agbodike and Sperber combined on a flurry of shots in the 63rd that the Grizzly keeper stopped. Finally, Blough's corner kick in the 69th made its way to senior Marissa Ow, whose header missed so narrowly that it sneaked beneath the two crossbars above the goal mouth.

The Troubie varsity win followed a 3-2 win for the Gold junior varsity program in which Sophia Kennedy-Contreras scored a hat trick to match her previous career output. The speedy sophomore broke the scoreless tie on a drive midway through the first half, but Granite Bay equalized in the final minute before halftime on the rebound of a long set play. The Grizzlies pulled ahead in the 44th minute on a ball that slipped through SF keeper Alyssa Becze, but Kennedy-Contreras found the top shelf from about 10 yards beyond the box in the 58th. She collected a pass from freshman Hazel Pryor before sending in her second goal.

Then in the 63rd, Kennedy-Contreras drew a foul just right of center, more than 30 yards away from the cage. She handled her own kick, and fired in the game-winner. Pryor nearly had a goal in the 45th minute to accompany her assist on the stat sheet, but a diving save from the Grizzly keeper prevented it. Sophomore Mariko Palmieri also barely missed a goal of her own in the 43rd when her lob bounced over the keeper but caromed off the football goalpost crossbar.

Overall, JV Gold has won six straight games, improving to 7-1-1 for the year and 2-0 in SFL action. Both league wins saw the Troubies overcome late one-goal deficits.

Finally, St. Francis' JV Red enjoyed an outstanding goalkeeping debut from freshman Jaycee Martinez, who made five saves before surrendering the lone goal in the 77th minute. One of her stops came on a corner kick in the 67th, with sophomore Liliana Hash eventually clearing the ball out of the Troubies' defensive third.

All three St. Francis soccer teams take a break from official competition until the home SFL tripleheader with Rocklin on January 3. In the interim, however, Gold and Red JV squad will square off in the revival of the annual holiday intrasquad game on Friday at Cristo Rey. Game time is 2 p.m.