RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — Sophomore Elizabeth Barger scored seven goals in a 17-4 varsity win while freshman Olivia Hamm figured on all but one of her team's goal in a a 12-3 junior varsity victory, as St. Francis swept Del Oro in a non-league high school girls' lacrosse doubleheader at Mather Sports Complex Monday night.
The Troubadour varsity improves to 8-2 overall while the jayvees move to 6-3 for the season.
Barger had one of three hat tricks for the elder SF squad in the nightcap. Senior Lauren Wieser netted five goals while sophomore Brynley Hodge added three. Barger's seven goal eclipsed her previous best of five, set on March 9 against Woodcreek. Wieser entered Monday's contest with three goals for the year. Hodge, the Troubies' scoring leader with 33 goals in 10 games, notched her seventh hat trick of the season.
Other superlative numbers belonged to senior Zahra Smith, who led her team with seven assists and eight draw controls; and freshman Karly Okamoto, who tallied five assists. Barger also contributed in the midfield with five draw controls and five ground balls of her own.
Senior Bella McCullough, only a day removed from being named to the Mexico Women's National Team, finished with nine saves against the four goals while adding an interception in the first half.
Barger scored her first three goals within a span of 2:35 in the first half as part of a 6-0 Troubie start. She also initiated another goal on a fast break, winning a ground ball, sending a pass upfield to Camdyn Zucker, who relayed to Okamoto. Okamoto then fed Wieser for the finish just 5:25 into the contest.
Oddly, Del Oro broke the scoreless stretch on a fortunate break. Freshman Jocelyn Martin planted a shot on goal that McCullough appeared to stop. However, the ball slipped loose from the keeper's stick and rolled into the cage. Barger offset that score just 13 seconds later on the ensuing draw. Smith won possession, then handed the ball to the sophomore Davisite, who then drove the remaining 40 yards straight to the house.
Barger completed the double hat trick with 4:10 left in the first half, scoring on a quick stick off an Okamoto feed to bring the score to 11-2. Her seventh goal capped a 6-0 run to start the second stanza, thanks to a Hodge assist that made it 17-2 with 12:05 remaining.
Smith had four straight assists in the outburst after the break: one to Claire Westberg on a free position, then three straight to Wieser in the 29th, 30th and 33rd minutes.
The varsity win followed Hamm's offensive display in the twinbill opener: Hamm scored four goals and an assist to help the Troubies craft a 6-2 halftime edge, then added three more goals and three assists after the break. The only St. Francis goal that did not involve the converted soccer standout came in the sixth minute, when Zoe Smith set up her twin sister, Zia Smith.
Zia Smith had three goals of her own plus a pair of assists. Zoe Smith and Chloe Garcia had the remaining two goals, both assisted by Hamm. Freshman Sofia Rabinovitz tallied back-to-back assists (both to Hamm) in the final 76 ticks of the first half. Impressively, Hamm's output game in a shortened contest: due to lightning strikes in the area, first draw was delayed, and the two coaches agreed to a 40-minute, running-clock format.
St. Francis continues a long homestand on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Davis. First draws are 5:30 and 7 p.m. for JV and varsity, respectively.
