FLC, Fresno play 120 scoreless minutes; Rams advance on PK's

The Folsom Lake Falcons and Fresno City Rams met on Saturday night in yet another epic playoff showdown and the capacity crowd certainly got their money's worth.  The two teams battled for 120 minutes (90 in regulation plus two 15-minute overtime periods) with neither team allowing the opponent to score.  That left the dreaded Penalty Kick shootout to determine which team would advance to the State Championship Final Four.  After four rounds of alternating shots, the shootout score stood at 4-4.  In the 5th round, Fresno goalie Ashley Chaddock made the save of her life as she dove far to her right to deflect Makena Jensen's PK.   Now with a chance to end the drama, the Fresno shooter sent her shot into the net for the 5-4 tiebreaker, and the Rams had punched their ticket to the Final Four.

The elimination was particularly tough to swallow for the Falcons, who dominated possession throughout the match and repeatedly had multiple scoring chances, only to see their shots hit the crossbar, or post, or miss by inches on either side.  The match - and outcome - was eerily similar to the 2019 playoff match in Fresno between these same teams, which also was decided by penalty kicks.  To lose just once the entire season and come so close to the State Final Four was gut-wrenching.

The Falcons concluded their season with a sparkling 15-1-6 record, their only loss coming at Sierra College on November 2 by a score of 1-0.