Girls soccer: Marin Catholic wins to keep pace with MCAL leaders

After taking a one-goal lead into the break, the Marin Catholic High girls soccer team scored three times during a 20-minute stretch in the second half to pull away for a 4-0 road win at San Rafael on Wednesday night.

Sloane Carey netted in the first half, then MC (7-1-1, 3-0-0 MCAL) got goals from Lana Wihlborg, Alina Franchetti, and Lexi Ferguson between the 44th and 63rd minutes to put the game away.

“To us, it’s everything,” Franchetti said of her team’s perfect start through three MCAL games. “We lost some really good players last year and we thought this season was going to be pretty rough. We’ve been coming in and putting in so much work and I think it’s really showing.”

MC joins Branson and Tam on nine points through three games. Redwood is sitting on six points through three games. The top four teams all face each other next Tuesday with Branson traveling to Tam and MC hosting Redwood.

Franchetti got things started for MC against San Rafael in the 10th minute by playing a long, diagonal ball to Carey, who was alone on the back side of the defense. Carey took a touch then slotted the ball inside the far post for a 1-0 lead.

“I received (the ball) from our outside back,” Franchetti said. “I took a touch and looked up and I saw Sloane creeping up in the corner. She’s kind of always lingering back there so I thought I’d slip her a ball and she had a beautiful touch.”

Despite going behind relatively early, San Rafael (3-4-3, 0-2-0) kept the game close into the second half and carved out an amazing opportunity in the 24th minute. Senior captain Clea Jimenez Donovan played a long ball to freshman Jaela Brown, who got behind the defense and was racing toward a one-on-one opportunity against MC goalie Finn Seymore.

MC’s Briana Frade, playing at center back, had other ideas. Frade chased Brown down and was able to tackle the ball away and out of danger before Brown could get a shot off.

“I just waited until she took a big enough touch and then I knew I didn’t want to get a foul on her so I went for the ball and I slide-tackled and we got the possession,” Frade said. “I just waited till she made that crucial touch where I could attack it.”

San Rafael’s calls for a penalty kick on the play were to no avail and MC took a 1-0 lead into the break.

“Soccer is obviously a huge game of momentum shifts and if that PK is called, that’s a big shift in momentum in the game,” San Rafael coach Nicole Caiocca said. “It didn’t go our way in terms of that call but it was a great chance.”

San Rafael carved out another great chance in the first minute of the second half following a throw-in in the final third. Brown received the ball just outside the 18-yard box and got off a good shot that went over the crossbar.

Having dodged a couple of bullets, the Wildcats wasted no time seizing back control of the game, scoring three minutes later. San Rafael played a lateral ball across the top of its own 18-yard box which MC’s KC Carpenter intercepted. Carpenter played the ball to Wihlborg on her left, who blasted it into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Franchetti had the third goal in the 55th minute, receiving a pass from Kate Batdorf just outside the 18-yard box. Franchetti eluded a couple of defenders then lashed a shot into the far side netting.

“I took a few touches, looked up and saw my shot and decided to take it,” Franchetti said.

Batdorf provided the assist again on MC’s final goal of the night as Ferguson put the result well beyond reach at 4-0 with under 20 minutes to play.

“I think that’s the difference in the game,” Caiocca said. “We didn’t put away our chances and they very much did.”

Around the county

• Branson built a big lead in the second half before conceding twice late in a 4-2 victory at San Marin on Wednesday. Sophia Duran scored twice for the Bulls (10-0-2, 3-0-0), with goals int he sixth and 57th minutes. Julia Myerberg scored in the 46th minute and Ally Hsieh added Branson’s fourth goal in the 73rd minute. San Marin got goals from Logan McDonald and Savannah Steiner in the final five minutes.
• Dakota Ledesma took a corner for Redwood that eventually resulted in a Terra Linda own goal as the Giants pulled out a 1-0 victory. Leah Volpentest had the shutout in goal for the Giants (9-3-0, 2-1-0). Terra Linda (5-3-0 , 1-2-0) plays a pair of crucial games next week against Archie Williams on Tuesday and MC on Thursday.
• Maren Jones made the most of her limited time on the pitch, scoring two goals and assisting three others as Tam rolled to a 9-0 win against Novato on Wednesday. Lauren Willard and Sabine Szylko had two goals apiece. Katie Lowenstein and Hana Leach also found the back of the net for Tam (6-3-4 , 3-0-0). Marissa Scanlan had two assists against Novato (1-5-1, 0-3-0). Lowenstein, Lily-Rose Espinasse, and Sawyer Merrick also had assists.