WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sofia Rabinovitz scored two goals, including one just 12 seconds after the opening touch, to lead St. Francis to a 3-0 shutout of Benicia; then the Troubadours played Vacaville to a scoreless draw in a rematch of last year's Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal matchup to highlight Friday action at River City's 14th-Annual Raider Cup Classic girls' soccer tournament.
Meanwhile, freshman Brynn Baker combined for three goals and two assists to help the SF Gold junior varsity squad to a 7-0 win over Benicia and 4-1 win over Vacaville.
Junior Miley Blough recorded two assists in the late-morning win over the Panthers, feeding Rabinovitz the ball immediately upon the start of the contest, then finding Holland Sperber for the second tally in the 20th minute. Sophomore Norah White made her varsity debut by setting up Rabinovitz in the 42nd, completing the Brace for the Hastings College commit.
Defensively, St. Francis dominated Benicia so soundly that freshman goalkeeper Mia Rabinovitz earned her first career shutout despite not collecting a save. However, the younger Rabinovitz stopped four shots in the nightcap with Vacaville for another shutout on her record.
The Bulldogs enjoyed more scoring opportunities than the Troubies, in part due to numerous free kicks in range of the SF cage. One such set piece appeared to break the scoreless tie when senior Katie Thomas sent a long serve over a leaping Mia Rabinovitz but under the crossbar in the 57th. However, the goal did not count, as Thomas' kick was indirect.
In JV Gold action, Anna George scored goals within a span of four minutes, with Mariko Palmieri and Baker accounting for the fourth in the first half against the Panthers. Then Tallas Schaedler added a brace with her finishes in the 36th and 40th minutes. Finally, Annika Rose turned Liv Vasques-Martin's corner kick into the seventh Troubie goal. Palmieri and Emma Kryski earned the assists for the two Schaedler goals.
In their afternoon win over Vacaville, Monet Zauner redirected Rose's cross into the initial go-ahead score in the 16th. Zauner then paid it forward by assisting Baker in the 34th. Baker put a deft touch on Kryski's cross in the 37th to provide SF with a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs spoiled the shutout bid with their goal in the 56th, but Vasques-Martin answered back with her own goal. She collected a pass from Schaedler, then launched a long shot that glanced off the VHS keeper and into the net.
The tournament standings are calculated as follows: six points for a win, three for a draw, none for a loss, one point per goal scored (up to a maximum of three per game) plus one bonus point for a shutout. Thus, the varsity opener was worth the maximum 10 points while the nightcap chalked up another four for a Friday total of 14. JV Gold finished the day with 19 total points, matching McClatchy for first place in the tourney heading into Saturday.
Both teams face CKM to complete round-robin play, with JV Gold taking on the Lions at 11 a.m. and varsity squaring off in the 12:45 p.m. game. Each of the varsity and JV divisions feature a championship game between the top two pool play finishers, and a third-place game featuring the next two teams. A tournament-central website featuring updated scores, standings, game times and locations can be found at https://rchsathleticbooster.my.canva.site/2024-rchs-raider-cup.
