FOLSOM, Calif. – Junior Jada Dwyre connected with senior Caitlin Hafenstein in the ninth minute for the lone goal in St. Francis' 1-0 shutout of Vista Del Lago in the varsity nightcap, completing a tripleheader sweep in girls' prep soccer play Monday night.
The Troubadours' JV Gold squad also notched a shutout, winning by a 2-0 final; while JV Red dispatched the Eagles with a 5-1 victory earlier in the night. Monday marked the season opener for all three SF squads.
Dwyre, who nearly assisted Hafenstein in the second minute of the contest, sent an outlet pass between a pair of defenders on the right sideline to her teammate. Hafenstein then outran her defender and planted her shot with 31:50 on the game clock.
Vista freshman goalkeeper Molly McBride managed to lock down the cage the rest of the way, including diving stops against SF sophomore Miley Blough in the first half and senior Elizabeth Barger in the second. Barger's shot was the first of a flurry of attempts early in the abbreviated second half: after the initial save, Summer Silvestri's putback caromed off the crossbar. Then Ruby Ellis got a third chance to add to the Troubie lead, only to miss wide of the post.
The low-scoring nature of the varsity nightcap stands in contrast to the opener, in which JV Red piled up five unanswered goals in the first half en route to its 5-1 win. Sophomore Liv Vasques-Martin and freshman Momina Niazi each finished with a brace, while Lauren Mikacich scored on a second-chance goal for the fifth. Only a goal from Vista sophomore CJ Clive in the final minute before halftime prevented a combined shutout for goalkeepers Rose Buffleben and Kaitlen Takeuchi.
Niazi could have scored a hat trick in her Troubie soccer debut, when Vasques-Martin assumed the game's first corner kick in the ninth minute. The ball went directly to Niazi, who would have had an easy tap-in but opted to led the shot bend into the goal mouth. Instead, Niazi scored her first career goal in the 18th on an unassisted drive, then added a second in the 27th.
JV Gold followed its younger Troubie sisters with a 2-0 shutout of the Eagles. Freshman Lily Hall converted an assist from sophomore Madeline Squaglia in the 24th minute, then Holland Sperber had the finish on a goal in the 64th following touches by Squaglia and Audrey Deelstra.
Freshman Gianna Flesoras and sophomore Gabriela Briscoe, with the latter earning three saves in her second half of work.
Monday's set marked the first official contests for all three Troubie squads, although the two JV teams scrimmaged Yuba City at home two weeks earlier. JV Red will travel to Will C. Wood on Wednesday, Gold will host Ponderosa on Friday, then Red and varsity will host University High of San Francisco for a Saturday doubleheader at Cristo Rey. Game times are 9 and 11 a.m., respectively. Note: the SF-University games were originally scheduled for Paul Goode Field in the Presidio, but the games were relocated to Sacramento this week.
