SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Franklin defeated St. Francis in penalty kicks Saturday afternoon to win the Christian Brothers Tournament. It was the first loss for the Troubadours on the season.

“It was a great tournament,” said junior Anna Gregg. “We stuck it out and played hard. Our legs are tired and we played our hearts out. We are just unlucky it didn’t go in the goal.”

The two teams battled all game with each side exchanging shots but failing to find the back of the net. Goalies Catie Brown and Mia Arostegui combined to shut out the Wildcats over 70 minutes in regulation and overtime with both making game-saving saves to preserve the shutout.

“My team played amazing and so did Franklin,” said Head Coach Rosella Kelly. “It was a battle. Everyone had three and four games today. They went in tired and fought and fought. The girls left everything on the field.”

Sophomore Avery Spector and junior Hailey Barrett each connected on their attempts in the penalty kick round. But the Troubies’ third attempt was high over the net and the fourth was saved by the Wildcat keeper. Franklin made their first four to claim the victory.

St. Francis, the defending champion of the tournament, advanced by posting a 2-0-1 record in pool play. They defeated El Camino in the semifinals Saturday 3-0 with goals by juniors Layne Price and Rachel Schaefer and sophomore Erin Barr.

The Troubadours opened the tournament by defeating Oak Ridge 2-0 with junior Anna Gregg scoring both goals and tying Vacaville 3-3 behind a hat trick by Gregg.

“It was a great game and great experience to know the team can count on me,” said Gregg of the hat trick. “I love putting away goals.”

St. Francis won again Saturday morning 3-0 over Nevada Union 3-0 to advance to the championship round.  

St. Francis (10-1-2) hosts Del Campo on Tuesday and travels to Rocklin on Thursday.