ELK GROVE, Calif. – Junior forward Mia Barsotti scored on a feed from senior Micaela Romo as the lone goal in St. Francis' 1-0 varsity win over Franklin in the varsity opener of a Delta League girls' soccer doubleheader Wednesday night. The Troubadours, ranked second in the Sac-Joaquin Section and 15th in the state by MaxPreps.com, remain undefeated at 12-0-3.
The varsity win was followed by a 3-1 JV Gold victory. Giuliana Del Guerra, Jada Dwyre and Sofia Rabinovitz each netted goals with Rabinovitz assisting on the other two scores.
Franklin largely controlled possession in the early going of the varsity opener, outshooting its guest by a 3-1 margin during the first 16 minutes of play. Junior defender Giada Pagano later posted a team save in the 25th, then Wildcat sophomore Jalena Kimber appeared to have headed in the first goal shortly after, but was ruled offsides.
Instead, St. Francis struck first as Romo drove the left side of the field before crossing to Barsotti in the center of the box for the finish in the 33rd minute.
Neither team scored in the second half, but not for lack of opportunities. The Troubies fired 12 total shots after the break, including eight on goal. Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Isabella De La Cruz made a leaping save on a free kick, nudging the ball over the crossbar. Then on the ensuing corner kick, De La Cruz made another stop to protect the SF lead.
Franklin's Senai Rogers also had one final chance to equalize in the final minute. De La Cruz came out to challenge, and Rogers' ball flipped over the rushing keeper, only to miss slightly wide right.
The junior varsity game saw considerably more offense, with St. Francis getting on the board in the 18th. Rabinovitz had her first attempted saved, but Del Guerra chased in the rebound for the second-chance score along the left side of the box. Junior goalkeeper Maggie Buffleben halted a pair of shots down the stretch of the first half. Estella Bacsafra also came up with a crucial defensive play in the 35th. With Buffleben out of the box on a Wildcat attack, Bacsafra was the last line of defense in the center of the goal mouth. Her stop protected the 1-0 lead into halftime.
Rabinovitz posted her second assist in the 52nd, sending a pass wide out to Dwyre on the right side. Dwyre, who had missed from that same spot just two minutes prior, placed a low tracer across the cage and into the left side of the net to extend the SF lead to 2-0.
The Wildcats halved the lead in the 57th when Kristiana Romo found herself wide open against the SF cage. Despite her three early saves, Troubie keeper Angelina Delaini had little chance to stop K. Romo's attempt. Del Guerra, Alyssa Cheah, Sarah Bashore and Miley Blough put shots on frame on the opposite end of the field, but SF did not extend its lead until the 74th, when Blough sent a ball to Rabinovitz inside the box. Rabinovitz turned and fired for the finish.
During the flurry of SF shots, Emma Bugarin made a key defensive play in the 73rd. Franklin freshman Madelyn Chau went straight to the cage on a counterattack, looking at what should have been a one-on-nobody opportunity. But Bugarin chased her down, clearing the ball out for an inconsequential corner kick.
JV Gold has now won 11 straight games, improving to 14-1 for the year.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, St. Francis' JV Red took on an undefeated Oak Ridge squad on the road for a mid-afternoon tilt. The Trojans continued their streak of shutout wins, dispatching the Troubies, 2-0. Oak Ridge put 13 shots on goal, resulting in 11 saves for SF keeper Aubrey Lesnau. Holland Sperber and Katherine Gorman led with four shots out of their team's 17.
St. Francis varsity and JV Gold return to action on Friday at Cosumnes Oaks for continued Delta League play. JV Red heads to Folsom to take on the Bulldogs for a 3:30 p.m. game at Livermore Park.
