The mistake was taken advantage of by Arcadia’s Chloe Torres, who headed in a Donna Bennett corner just seconds after Crescenta Valley (14-5-3, 10-3-1 in league) had fended off a prior Arcadia (15-4-3 11-2-1) corner.
It was a defensive breakdown in marking that Fraschetti had been hollering at her team to avoid on the play and for just about the entire match previously.
“I couldn’t have said it any more times,” Fraschetti said.
Just minutes earlier, it looked as if Arcadia would tie the match when Natalie Zeenni crossed a pass to Ann Marie Tangorra. Tangorra was one on one with Falcons goalie Amanda Rose. Rose made a dynamic, sprawling save to keep hold of Crescenta Valley’s lead, as the Falcons bench and fans erupted in applause.
“That was one of those surefire goals, that was amazing,” Fraschetti said.
The save, Rose’s eighth and last of the match, was for naught, though.
“After that amazing save, we didn’t mark,” Fraschetti said.
With the tie, Arcadia tied for the league crown with Pasadena, while Crescenta Valley finishes third.
“When we play each other, so much more comes out of these teams,” Arcadia Coach Ashley Frandsen said.
Last season, Crescenta Valley was unbeaten going into its last match, at Arcadia, and lost to the Apaches.
The season prior, Arcadia won, 1-0, at home on a controversial goal, known to some as the “phantom goal,” as many concede it never actually went in.
On Thursday, it was borderline amazing that no goals went in during the first half.
During the initial 20 minutes, the Apaches bombarded the Falcons net.
“They were pounding us,” Fraschetti said.
But then the Falcons turned the tables and pounded right back.
Kim Carcich had two point-blank shots saved and, in one sequence, Alex Barrett-Scherrer and Brittani Dearman had close-up shots saved, including one by an Arcadia defender.
The teams combined for 19 first-half shots (Arcadia had 11), with 11 getting saved.
In the second half, Crescenta Valley finally broke through when a Tori Baldridge throw-in bounced around in front of the Arcadia net before Barrett-Scherrer booted it in in the 46th minute.
After that, the Baldridge-led defense and Rose held strong until the last seconds.
“Somebody was watching out for us,” Frandsen said.
Even more bad news came when Falcons All-Area forward Brittany Berger injured her ankle. It is unknown if she’ll play when CIF playoffs start next week.
“We just have to learn from our mistakes,” said Fraschetti of her team moving on. “I hope they show up with fire.”
