DAVIS, Calif. – The St. Francis soccer team fell 1-0 to Davis Monday night in a hard fought battle between two of the best teams in the Delta League.

“This was a positive for me,” said Head Coach Maryclaire Robinson. “We played the best team in the league, lost 1-0 on a PK. Yes, we chased but quite frankly I thought our team defense was great. We played hard. That is all I can ask. We can walk out with our heads held high. I am looking forward.”

Davis scored on a penalty kick off a hand ball in the box in the 29th minute. Despite controlling the ball, the Troubadours fought hard all game while looking for an equalizer in the scoreless second half.

“Davis is always a really tough opponent and they are really good,” said sophomore goalkeeper Marlee Nicolos. “We can’t take anything away from them. They have really fast forwards and technical play and are aggressive in the air. We just needed to stick to it today and stay connected. The defense and everyone tracked back and put in a big team effort. Everyone did really well and I am proud of everyone.”

Nicolos, who made 23 saves in the contest, recently joined the team after an extended run with the basketball team in the CIF State Basketball playoffs.

“I thought she did great,” said Robinson of Nicolos. “She came up with some great saves and the ones that she didn’t, defensively we were in a position to team defense it out.”

 Nicolos was happy to contribute to her new team and is looking forward to the stretch run towards the playoffs.

“It is really exciting to start especially me being new to the team,” said Nicolos. “I am really happy we have got two tough opponents so I can see what everyone is like. I love everyone. They are my sisters.”

St. Francis dropped to 9-2-4 and 3-2-4 in league play, while Davis remained undefeated at 12-0-1 and 8-0-1. The lone tie came against the Troubadours earlier this season at St. Francis.

“It is always a tough game,” said senior Hailey Barrett. “Hopefully we get to play them again the playoffs.”

St. Francis defeated Davis last season in the section semifinals.

The game was moved under the lights to accommodate a fundraising effort by Davis for student Jillian Foster who suffered spinal trauma in an accident. The SF team presented the Davis coach with a card signed by the team and donation from money collected by the players.