Fresno Christian’s ‘best game’ of season ends in heartbreak in CIF NorCal Division IV title
Oh so close for the Fresno Christian girls soccer team.
The Eagles were about 10 minutes away from a California Interscholastic Federation Northern California Regional Division IV title.
But Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton scored two goals, including the game winner in stoppage time for a 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon.
When the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match, Eagles fans stoop and applauded the team for a 19-3 season that included a Northwest Sequoia League title and a Central Section Division IV title.
“We played our best game of the year and that’s all you can ask for as a coach,” Fresno Christian coach Matthew Markarian said. “We just play hard and we show up ready to play and we did. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
Fresno Christian had taken a 2-1 lead in the second half on Fresno State commit Abigail Herren on a penalty kick.
Sacred Heart Prep responded with two goals then scored the game-winner off a corner kick that turned into a header.
“Soccer’s a cruel game,” Markarian said. “Somebody’s got to win, so hat’s off to them, and what they did today because they showed up. We pride ourselves on playing hard and being very organized. I mean that’s a very good team we played today and we stood toe-to-toe with them and we stayed organized and we stayed compact and as I reflect, as we get further away, I think I’ll be more proud of this group.”
