Sophie Larbalestier’s ‘fantastic goal’ featured on KNBC

By Anika Bhavnani, Editor-in-Chief|January 22, 2017

JD Media

Varsity soccer player freshman Sophie Larbalestier was featured on KNBC news on Jan. 19.

She appeared on anchor Fred Roggin‘s segment, ‘Roggin’s Heroes,’ which featured Larbalestier’s 33-yard goal from the Panther’s 1-0 victory over Pacific Christian on Jan. 18.

2016-2017 Varsity Soccer
Date Opponent Result
Tue, Nov 29 Trinity Classic 8-0 W
Wed, Nov 30 Crossroads 0-3 L
Tue, Dec 06 Brentwood CANCELED
Thu, Dec 08 Calvary Chapel 8-0 W
Mon, Dec 12 Wildwood CANCELED
Thu, Jan 05 deToledo 0-1 L
Tue, Jan 10 Oakwood 3-0 W
Thu, Jan 12 Milken Communit 2-0 W
Tue, Jan 17 Pacifica Christ 1-0 W
Tue, Jan 24 deToledo 0-0 T
Thu, Jan 26 Oakwood 1-0 W
Tue, Jan 31 Milken Communit 5-2 W
Thu, Feb 02 Pacifica Christ 1-0 W
Tue, Feb 07 Buckley 3-0 W
Thu, Feb 16 Anaheim 0-2 L

Roggin is KNBC-TV’s sports anchor and an afternoon show co-host at KLAC.

“When I shot the ball from 33 yards away, I saw the goal, looked down and shot the ball. I looked around and was completely embarrassed because I was almost positive it was going over [the goal],” she wrote in an email interview. “It ended up going right under the cross bar and into the goal. The crowd erupted, and it was the funniest and one of the best moments ever.”

Archer’s victory over Pacifica Christian secured the team a 4-1 record in the Liberty League.

“I was really excited for [Larbalestier],” senior co-captain Liadan Solomon said. “We have a lot of freshmen on the team, and I feel like their mom. I was just beaming with pride.”

To announce, the television segment, Athletics Office & Health/EMT Coordinator Marlee Rice sent a school wide email on Jan. 18.

“I received an email about my goal being on the news, and at first I was totally confused,” Larbalestier wrote. “I thought I was dreaming because of the shock I was in.”

“It was really cool for her to get a shoutout [on tv]. She totally deserves it,” team manager Madina Mohammed ’17 said. “She scored a fantastic goal from 33 yards away, which was insane.”

Larbalestier herself was shocked to see herself on TV.

“

I thought I was dreaming because of the shock I was in.

— Sophie Larbalestier

“When I got home after our game last night, I went to the recordings and skipped through the commercials. I saw NBA players, Serena Williams, and I knew this wasn’t the right station because how could I be on such an esteemed channel?” she wrote. “When I heard the commentator, [Roggin], talk about a high school soccer game, I almost fainted.”

“Also, many of my friends and family friends saw me on the news and sent photos and congratulated me, which made the whole thing more special,” Larbalestier said.

The varsity soccer team’s next game will be against deToledo on Jan. 24 at Santa Monica College.