SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Mika Shinoda and junior Micaela Romo teamed up for their team's lone goal as the St. Francis varsity tied Christian Brothers, 1-1, in the annual Holy Cup rivalry soccer game at Cristo Rey High School Friday night.
The matchup features the two Catholic private schools in the Sacramento area.
Friday's varsity nightcap was preceded by the Troubies' JV Gold blanking the Falcons in a 8-0 shutout. The mostly freshman JV Red opened the day with a 1-1 tie against Rocklin as part of a soccer triple header.
The sole St. Francis goal came in the 47th minute of the contest. Shinoda collected a pass from Romo to complete a left-side drive, giving the Troubies a 1-0 lead, albeit a brief one. CB answered back a minute later, as Bailey Rakela played a ball to the right side of the box to the feet of Lily Jensen, who sent the ball cross-cage into the net for the equalizer.
Romo, junior Jaycee DeFazio and sophomore Audrey Shackleford also applied pressure on the CB goal in the second half, but Falcon goalkeeper Dana Greer came up with four saves in her second-half appearance. Meanwhile, Laila Hadid and Alex Davis each blocked shots on the SF defensive end down the final stretch.
Christian Brothers controlled possession for most of the first half but could not score. Senior keeper Rory Peters had diving saves in the third and 21st minutes to keep the Falcons off the board. Meanwhile, St. Francis did not advance to its attacking end until almost four full minutes of the opening half. Peters finished the game with three saves in her 40 minutes of work.
The varsity game also served as Senior Night for the Troubies, who honored a total of eleven 2022 graduates-to-be during pregame ceremonies: Peters, Shinoda, Hadid, Davis, Kate Killer, Kenna DeLemos, Caroline Murdoch, Sofia Flores, Macey Warm, Emma Harris and Malia McGrail.
Earlier in the evening, Yasmin Azar posted two goals and two assists while Mia Barsotti chipped in another brace plus an assist to lead the JV Gold to a 8-0 shutout of Christian Brothers.
The Troubies struck early, with Maggie Koerwitz scoring on a third-chance opportunity off a corner kick just 70 seconds into the contest. Azar then assisted Barsotti on a goal in the 18th minute before scoring one of her own thanks to a Jianna Reyes pass in the 21st.
Azar completed her brace from 30 yards out in the 28th minute. Junior Becca Weil then extended the lead to 5-0 with less than nine minutes left before halftime. The CB goalkeeper misplayed a punt, Weil recovered just beyond the penalty arc, then blasted a shot from that spot.
St. Francis JV Gold continued to roll late in the second half. Reyes scored into an unprotected cage in the 57th, Weil delivered a short up pass for Barsotti in the 68th, then Caitlin Hafenstein found Ava Hawkinson – the Troubies' goalkeeper in the first half – dead center for a goal in the 76th.
Friday's action began with a 1-1 draw between St. Francis' JV Red and visiting Rocklin frosh-soph, playing in lieu of a CB freshman squad. Like the older JV Gold, the Trouble Red struck early as Giuliana Del Guerra assisted Olivia Hamm in just the third minute.
However, Rocklin answered in the 37th when Abigail Schrader's shot went on frame toward the top shelf. Sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Buffleben got both hands on the ball, but not enough to push it over the crossbar.
In the final minute of the game, the Thunder goalkeeper tripped on SF freshman Sofia Rabinovitz at the top of the 18. The loose ball ended up under the control of Del Guerra, who fired a shot in for an apparent game-winner. However, the goal was disqualified as a foul was called against Rabinovitz. The two teams settled for the 1-1 tie.
Friday's game is the home finale for the St. Francis varsity and JV Gold, each of which return to action at Davis for a Delta League doubleheader at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The JV Red plays its home finale on that day, taking on Folsom at the on-campus field at 3:30 p.m.
