Advertisement

St. Francis soccer tied up again

Share

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE — After seeing his team play to a second tie score in as many matches to start the season, St. Francis High soccer Coach Glen Appels showed a hint of frustration to go along with relief.

Needless to say, Appels would prefer wins over any other result.

But with the Golden Knights facing a one-goal deficit in each half of Thursday night’s Ralph Brandt Tournament match with visiting North Hollywood, staying unbeaten in the early season isn’t the worst thing.

“There were so many balls inches away from scoring,” said Appels after the 2-2 final against the Huskies. “Tuesday was more of the same, so it’s getting a little frustrating for the players.”

The goals were the first and second for St. Francis on the season as the season opener with La Salle ended in a 0-0 tie.

It took a total of three halves for the Golden Knights (0-0-2) to get on the scoreboard this season. Trailing 1-0 in the second half, St. Francis senior Brookes Treidler was the beneficiary of a good ball from Jacob Anderson, which allowed Treidler to dribble with only the Huskies goalkeeper as a defender.

Treidler shot a ball near the right post that found its way to the back of the net, tying the score at one goal apiece.

North Hollywood answered just over 12 minutes later with a goal off a corner kick to retake the lead at 2-1.

What could have been a crushing goal was answered less than two minutes later on another breakaway goal from Treidler — this one from farther out, but the same result nonetheless as the ball whizzed by the keeper who made a dive for it.

“Two goals in a half isn’t bad,” Appels said. “We told Brookes to use his size and get more aggressive, and that’s what he did.”

“They didn’t get a lot of opportunities but they’re a good team with counter attack. We did enough to win, but we didn’t.”

Appels also praised his goalkeeper Luke Hatanaka, who kept the Golden Knights within striking distance as the anchor of a defense that allowed the team to control time of possession and momentum.

The Golden Knights’ next game in the tournament will be Saturday against Crescenta Valley.

Advertisement