SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis outshot its guest by a 10-1 margin in the second half but a counterattack goal in the 15th lifted Rocklin past the Troubadours' JV Red squad, 1-0, in a non-league girls' frosh-soph soccer game at Cristo Rey High Monday afternoon.
JV Red slips to 5-12-2 for the season..
The Thunder largely dominated the first half in terms of opportunities, with Audrey Buetzow and Sophia Samuels breaking away for the game's lone goal. Rocklin nearly doubled its lead when Ava Duncan had a clean look at the cage at the top of the penalty box, but SF sophomore Liv Vasques-Martin swooped in to clear the ball before Duncan could get to a shot. Freshman keeper Kaitlen Takeuchi managed three saves in the first half to prevent any further damage.
After the break, Rocklin largely won the possession game, but the Troubies threaten to equalize. Gianna Barnes sent a cross into that resulted in back-to-back shots along the right side of the 18, but the Thunder keeper halted them. Then in the 60th, Vasques-Martin delivered a long serve that forced the keeper two steps into the actual cage, but no goal was ruled.
SF continued to pepper the Rocklin goal with attempts in the final 10 minutes, all of which were saved by the Rocklin goalkeeper or blocked by defenders. Meanwhile, Vasques-Martin, Eliza Hurley and Gianna Erdmann provided defensive support to allow Takeuchi to face only one shot on goal in the 64th.
JV Red finishes its season with the 7:30 p.m. nightcap of a Delta League tripleheader at Davis on Monday. Note: a January 31 visit to Oak Ridge, which appeared on earlier schedules, was previously canceled. The youngest Troubie squad looks to snap a five-game winless streak that began after the January 10 shutout against Will C. Wood.
