Santa Rosa knocks off Falcons in epic Big 8 battle

Santa Rosa knocks off Falcons in epic Big 8 battle

Prior to Tuesday's match, the Folsom Lake and Santa Rosa women's soccer teams had met six times over the last two seasons;  twice during each regular season and then in the third round of the state playoffs both years.  As for results, four of those matchups ended with the score tied, Santa Rosa won 1-0 once, and the Falcons prevailed 2-0 in last year's playoffs.  The rivalry has been so close, the goal differential from those six matchups was just 5-4 in favor of the Falcons. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the the teams appeared headed for another classic.  Santa Rosa controlled possession time for a majority of the first half, but were unable to get past Falcon goalkeeper Izzy Chinchayand the half ended with the teams tied at 0-0.  In the second half, the Falcons' attack awoke as they had several breakaway chances, but were thwarted by the Bear Cubs' goalie.  With both teams intent on breaking the deadlock, the Bear Cubs finally found the net in the 75th minute for a 1-0 lead.  They followed that with an insurance goal ten minutes later, making the final score 2-0.

While the Falcons were disappointed with the loss, the reality is that the Big 8 Conference has so many good teams, anything can happen over the course of a 16-game schedule.  With the cancellation of Friday's non-conference match at Shasta, the Falcons must now focus on regrouping for next Tuesday's Big 8 match at Cosumnes River.