St. Francis soccer left frustrated following league tie against Chaminade
Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before the St. Francis High soccer team breaks through with a bevy of goals.
The Golden Knights sure hope that happens sooner rather than later.
St. Francis came off the field frustrated following a 0-0 tie against Chaminade in a Mission League road match Wednesday.
St. Francis (8-3-4, 1-2-3 in league for six points) had several quality scoring opportunities, yet couldn’t convert, as it played to a second straight league draw with Chaminade (2-4-4, 2-2-2 for eight points).
“We’re doing everything right, but scoring, and it’s frustrating,” said St. Francis coach Glen Appels, whose team tied Chaminade, 1-1, at home on Jan. 6. “It’s been that way for a while now where we get chances and can’t convert and we wind up with these ties.
“We are expecting at any moment to finally break through and get some goals. When we do, we’ll be back at it. We need to get some goals and some wins to get back into the mix.”
The Golden Knights had two good opportunities in the second half.
Giovanni Nieves of St. Francis lined a shot from about 30 yards out that Chaminade goalkeeper Michael Hazimi (six saves) was able to make a leaping stop on midway in the second half.
St. Francis’ Michael Gallegos had a shot go wide of the right post with about two minutes remaining.
Chaminade also had a quality chance in the second half, when a 30-yard direct kick by Luka Hadzic was turned aside by St. Francis goalkeeper Luis Granados in the 75th minute.
“It was a good shot and I had to be ready,” said Granados, a reigning All-CIF Southern Section Division II first-team selection who finished with five saves. “He curved the shot well and I took a step back to make the save.
“I thought we played well again. We’re just not getting the results now and we have to stay with it and continue to play well.”
The Golden Knights and Eagles each had one quality scoring opportunity in the first half.
Chaminade’s Jonathon Casillas curved a shot wide of the right post in the 15th minute.
About 20 seconds later, Tyler Mallett put a shot over the crossbar on St. Francis’ ensuing rush.
“We’ve got to take off at some point,” said Appels, who led the Golden Knights to a playoff appearance last season. “We can’t give up.
“We need to get a couple of wins in a row and then we’ll be right back in it.”
