SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore goalkeeper Mia Rabinovitz posted five saves en route to her 10th shutout of the year to lift St. Francis to a 1-0 win over Folsom in the varsity portion of a Sierra Foothill League girls' soccer tripleheader at Cristo Rey's Adamson Family Sports Complex Thursday night.
The Troubadours improve to 10-4-2 for the season with a 4-3-2 league record. The Bulldogs slip to 1-7-3 overall and remain winless in SFL play at 0-7-2.
The lone goal in the contest came on a Folsom own goal in the 12th minute. Sophomores Azaria Agbodike and Brynn Baker advanced on the Folsom goal on a counterattack, with Agbodike attempting to center a pass to Baker from the right side. A Bulldog defender attempted to block the cross, only to send it into the net off her own goalkeeper.
Overall, the Troubies enjoyed numerous chances to score throughout the game. Monet Zauner had the first close call in the ninth when her shot glanced off the crossbar and over the top of the cage. Agbodike and Miley Blough put shots on frame in the 18th and 19th minutes, but the Bulldog keeper interceded with saves.
Folsom fired six shots over the course of the game, with five on goal. Oddly, the one that missed frame was arguably the most dangerous threat: in the 31st, freshman Sophia Rangel fired from the left side only for her cross-cage attempt to sail just right of the target.
Blough had four more attempts saved in the second half. Lily Hall appeared to have doubled the Troubie lead but was ruled offsides. Rabinovitz made two saves in the final minutes to preserve the 1-0 win. The sophomore had eight shutouts early in the season but has more recently platooned with junior Millie Katzeff, who become active after the mandatory sit-out period for transfer players. However, with Katzeff absent against the Bulldogs, Rabinovitz went the distance in net and thus was credited with the individual shutout.
The varsity defensive battle followed a relatively high-scoring opener, in which Folsom defeated the Troubies' JV Gold squad by a 4-2 final. Bridget Beard scored on a long serve in the 35th minute then Sophia Kennedy-Contreras buried an equally distant free kick in the 67th for SF. However, Bulldog freshman Ella Shaw posted a hat trick while fellow ninth grader Cameron Dinse finished a transition for the go-ahead in the 71st to hand JV Gold its first league loss of the year.
JV Red finished the night with its fourth 1-1 draw of the year. The Troubies fell into a 1-0 hole on a Folsom set piece in the 17th, but kept their goal clear the rest of the way. In the meantime, an obstruction call inside the box allowed freshman Gabrielle Angove to take an indirect kick. She buried a shot by way of a Lily Hosseini pass for the equalizer.
Hosseini came up with key defensive plays after Angove's goal to save the draw. After goalkeeper Jaycee Martinez came up with one of her six overall saves, Hosseini stepped in to clear out a follow-up shot in the 54th. Less than two minutes later, Bulldog freshman Kala Biller threatened to score, only for Hosseini to steal the ball and send it out of harm's way.
St. Francis soccer returns to action on Saturday at Colfax – coincidentally, the very school from which Katzeff transferred – in an unusual JV Red/varsity doubleheader. Game times are 10 a.m. and noon. JV Gold's next game will be part of the Tuesday home tripleheader against Granite Bay.
Note: previous schedules incorrectly listed the Colfax road doubleheader as JV Gold and varsity. St. Francis JV Red will face Colfax's junior varsity at 10 a.m., varsity will follow at noon, with JV Gold idle on Saturday.
