Crescenta Valley girls’ soccer emerges from Arcadia with hard-fought draw
ARCADIA — It was the defensive efforts of the likes of Crescenta Valley High’s Sarah Gabon, Madi Jacques, McKenna Raymond and Nicole Yim that proved pivotal in the Falcons’ Pacific League girls’ soccer showdown with rival Arcadia.
But it was most certainly the heroics of sophomore goaltender Gracie Zaragoza that allowed the young, upstart Falcons to come away from Arcadia High with a hard-fought 1-1 tie against the Apaches, the five-time defending league titlists.
Zaragoza’s aggressive play halted myriad Arcadia set pieces and she tallied eight saves, many of them splendid and six of them in the second half against what seemed like an overwhelming Apaches attack.
“The second half was a challenge for me. My adrenaline was just carrying me through it,” Zaragoza said. “I just knew there was no way they were gonna score against me again.”
Arcadia (7-6-1, 5-0-1 in league) garnered a 1-0 lead when sophomore Sydney Steinberger blasted in a score off a deflection from roughly 20 yards out in the fourth minute.
Crescenta Valley (7-5-5, 5-0-2) found its equalizer in the form of a dynamic goal from freshman standout Chloe Ataya in the 19th minute. An excellent pass from Yim, a senior and reigning All-Area selection, up the heart of the field found Ataya, who lost her mark and scored on a 15-yard attempt past the onrushing goalie.
“It was a game-changer for us,” Zaragoza said of Ataya’s goal.
The tie snapped Arcadia’s 25-game league winning streak, with a 2-1 Crescenta Valley win on Jan. 22, 2016 serving as the last time the Apaches did not win a league match. It also snapped a four-game league shutout streak for the Apaches.
With one more game played, Crescenta Valley is technically in first place with 17 points to Arcadia’s 16.
Arcadia out-shot Crescenta Valley, 16-3, and, 9-0, in the second half, but the Falcons came up big to keep the match tied and Zargoza made some phenomenal saves, including two diving point-blank saves and a tip over the crossbar.
“They definitely dominated the second half,” Falcons coach Tyraysha Peterson said.
All the more impressive was the Falcons have 12 underclassmen on their 20-girl roster and Arcadia, though not the biggest team, had a clear size advantage.
“I know before the game, everyone was nervous,” Zaragoza said. “Arcadia is a tough team to compete with and I felt we did a great job competing with them.”
For Peterson, the effort and the end result were positive and then some for her upstarts.
“Lots of good feelings,” she said. “I think it was really a plus to come out of here with a tie. I’ve been saying this all year long; with us being so young, it’s all positives. We’re getting some great experience.”
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
