“I love it and I hate it at the same time.”
The defending Pacific League champion Falcons, who lost only their second league match over a 17-game span, dominated possession for most of the match, outshooting the Bulldogs, 18-4.
Pasadena, however, found the one shot that counted in the 24th minute when forward Kristie Schweitzer got loose up the right sideline.
Schweitzer bolted past the Falcons defense and fired a shot from just inside the box.
Falcon goalkeeper Apolonia Martinez got a piece of the shot, but it wasn’t enough as the ball bounded into the left side of the net.
“We had a little bit of a breakdown defensively,” Fraschetti said. “I’m not saying our defense made a mistake, but the whole team, as a whole, made one small mistake, and they capitalized on it.”
Crescenta Valley (7-3-2, 2-1) had numerous chances to answer and nearly did in the final 10 minutes of the match.
In the 72nd minute, juniors Tori Baldridge and Brittani Dearman nearly tied up the match off a corner kick.
Dearman lofted a beautiful ball toward the Pasadena net, but Baldridge’s header attempt sailed just high to keep the Falcons off the board.
Just minutes later, Crescenta Valley’s Kim Carcich had two point-blank chances that were turned away and Frances Boukidis missed just wide with a shot to preserve the 1-0 shutout for the Bulldogs (7-1-1, 2-1).
“The rain is hard because your first touch isn’t going be as close to you,” Baldridge said. “I feel like we stepped up a little bit in the second half, but that first half we just didn’t come out ready.”
Crescenta Valley, which has lost three straight after starting the year undefeated it its first nine tries, will look to get back on track next week as they continue in Pacific League play against Burbank on Tuesday afternoon.
