On the night of Dec. 19, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls soccer team faced off against Agoura High School (Agoura). After a hard-fought battle, Foothill Tech succumbed to the pressure of the Agoura strikers and was defeated 1-4.
Rodriguez said, “I think we can take our aggressiveness for sure into the rest of the season, we definitely need to work on being smarter, being smarter about plays … getting goals in the net and making sure we connect [our passes].”
Foothill Tech started with possession, playing the ball back to midfielder Liz Geib ‘28, who attempted to attack the Agoura defense, but played the ball back when an opportunity failed to present itself. In the opening minutes, both Agoura and Foothill Tech struggled to control the ball for long stretches. Each side pressed whenever they saw an opening, but most of the action stayed locked around midfield. After a missed pass by Agoura, defender Taylor Ross ‘27 sent a long ball to Lyla Huff ‘27, who looked for a scoring chance but was denied after the Agoura goalkeeper caught her shot.
As both teams settled into their rhythm, Agoura began to dictate the tempo, holding possession for much of the first half and steadily applying pressure.
After half an hour of relentless attacking from the Agoura strikers, the Dragons’ defense finally bent, and a corner kick was headed in to give Agoura a 0-1 lead just as the half expired. As the second half began, the Dragons looked to regain the lost goal. Abby Verboomen ‘28 quickly gained possession after an Agoura mistake on the kickoff and played the ball forward to Huff, who again searched for a scoring opportunity but was turned back by the Agoura defense.
However, with the Dragons’ back line pushed up near midfield, Agoura counterattacked, playing the ball over the heads of the Foothill Tech defenders to extend the lead to 0-2.
On the kickoff, Verboomen was fouled by an Agoura forward, and Foothill Tech quickly pressed the advantage. Ross played the ball down the line to Alinah Rodriguez ‘27, who crossed into the box, but the Agoura goalkeeper denied the Dragons another chance at goal.
Agoura countered again for two goals in quick succession, setting the scoreboard at 0-4.
On the restart, Ross played the ball forward to Rodriguez, who made a run down the right side. After receiving the pass, Rodriguez attempted to dribble into the midfield for a shot but was stopped by an aggressive tackle from an Agoura defender that put her on the ground.
On the free kick, the cross was deflected by the Agoura goalkeeper and rolled straight to Verboomen, who put the ball into the back of the net, putting Foothill Tech on the board.
As the clock wound down, the Dragons made several attempts to add another goal, but the Agoura defense proved too strong, and the final whistle blew to confirm a 1-4 defeat.
Assistant Coach Forrest Solis said, “The score can look really bad, but with better circumstances, especially coming off of playing three games this week, we could have tied that game or even won it.”
The Foothill Tech girls soccer team plays again on Jan. 8, 2026, against St. Bonaventure High School (Bonnie) at Ventura College.
