LOOMIS, Calif. – Senior Terra Carden scored on a cross from Meredith Cook late in the game to break open a scoreless game and lead St. Francis to a 1-0 victory at Del Oro Tuesday night.

“Our defense did a great job tonight especially our goalkeepers,” said Head Coach Rosella Kelly. “They did an excellent job.”

The two teams were locked in a tight, defensive battle all night. Both teams had opportunities throughout the game with the Eagles getting the best push throughout the second half. But the Troubadour defense held strong and Mia Arostegui and Catie Brown combined for 12 saves in goal to post the combined shutout.

“It was a team effort tonight,” said Carden. “We kept working hard. It was awesome.”

The game look destined for overtime until Cook hit a cross from the left side to find Carden open 20 yards out. She belted a shot to the left corner that found the net out of the reach of the Del Oro keeper. The Troubies held off the Eagles over the final minutes to remain undefeated on the season at 4-0-1.

“It is nice to have a senior on the field that can help with her experience,” said Kelly of Carden. “She is one of our leaders on the team. It was nice to have her back.”

St. Francis won the Cal Spring Classic over the weekend but were without both Carden and Brown, who played in club games over the weekend. They both played key factors in the win on Tuesday.

Brown, who took over the goal in the second half, made eight saves, including several strong efforts on the ground to prevent the Eagles from reaching the net.
“We did a lot better job in the second half playing together as a unit,” said Brown.

“The two center backs are real solid and we started winning a lot of balls in the air. It helped us have a big advantage in the second half.”

The JV team also won Tuesday night behind two goals by Bridget Foy, while the freshmen posted a 4-0 shutout at Kit Carson over El Camino with two goals each by Monet Lopez and Savannah Tijerino-Santos.

“It was a battle,” said Brown. “Del Oro is a very good team and they had a lot of skilled players. At the end, we put the extra effort in to get the goal and win the game.”

The JV and Varsity teams travel to play at El Camino on Thursday night at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. the freshmen team plays at Oak Ridge on Friday at 4 p.m.