EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – Senior goalkeeper Bella McCullough tallied a career-high 17 saves while midfielders Zahra Smith and Elizabeth Barger each performed hat tricks on offense, but St. Francis surrendered a run of six unanswered goals early in the second half to fall to host Oak Ridge, 20-9, in the first round of the Sierra Foothill/Delta League girls' lacrosse tournament Tuesday night.
The Troubadours slip to 14-4 for the season, ending a six-game win streak. The Trojans improve to 16-1 overall.
The SFL/Delta tourney serves as a de facto Sacramento area championship for girls' lacrosse, as teams from the two leagues ultimately compete in the North Coast Section rather than the usual Sac-Joaquin Section. St. Francis tied Davis for the Delta League title but lost the tiebreaker to claim the No. 2 seed in the bracket. Oak Ridge went undefeated in the SFL, staying two games ahead of Vista Del Lago.
McCullough, who will play collegiate lacrosse at William Penn next year, surpassed her previous varsity best of 15, set against Rio Americano on May 21 of her junior season. The 39 shots on goal against her also marks a new high, eclipsing the 31 (12 saves, 19 goals) she faced against the Trojans on March 23 this season.
Smith, also a future collegiate lacrosse player (Delaware State), scored four goals to lead the Troubies. Barger added three goals with an assist, while sophomore Brynley Hodge tallied three assists. Barger also scooped up five draw controls, but ORHS won that battle by a 19-12 margin – including 12 by senior Alex Young.
Lauren Wieser scored the remaining two St. Francis goals, including one with 12:08 left in the first that sparked a 6-1 run for her team. Facing a 6-0 deficit to start, Hodge scored a caused turnover and fed to Wieser, who drew an eight-meter opportunity. Wieser had the ball jarred loose but recovered and planted a shot into the net.
Barger won the next draw, setting up Smith's first goal at 11:38; then Karly Okamoto faked a crease roll before assisted Barger on the third Troubie goal with 10:32 to go.
Smith scored two of St. Francis' next two goals in completing her hat trick while Barger assisted Wieser on her second goal, all of which cut the deficit to just 7-6 at the 1:57 mark before halftime. But Oak Ridge answered with goals by Tori Ross and Natalie Mancinelli in the last 63 ticks of the half to extend its lead to 9-6.
McCullough came up with another save off the opening draw, and Okamoto recorded her second assist to Smith to start the 30th minute, reducing the deficit to 9-7. However, Oak Ridge held St. Francis scoreless for the next 11:14, with sophomore Ella Rutherford posting two goals and an assist in her team's 6-0 run. Barger interrupted this stretch with a successful drive on the right-side of the arc at the 10:45 mark, then netted her third goal on a Hodge assist with 9:44 left, but that was the last SF shot to find the back of the cage.
Rutherford scored her team-leading fifth goal while Young hit her fourth in the final seven minutes to help the Trojans pull away to the victory.
St. Francis will now take on Vista Del Lago for the third-place game of the SFL/Delta bracket. This game takes place on Halden Field at Ron & Mary Brown Stadium in Davis. First draw is 5:30 p.m.
NOTES: Zahra Smith had three interceptions in Tuesday's game, raising her season caused turnover total to 39... This ties Charlotte Stewart's 2011 school record... McCullough's 17 stops easily pushed her past the century mark for the season (108), making her the third goalie in program history to hit triple digits in back-to-back seasons... Maddie Merwin had 111 and 164 in 2014 and 2015, respectively; while Maggie Pinkston stopped 104 and 116 in her final two seasons of 2017 and 2018... Update: Thursday's game will now start at 5:30 rather than 5 p.m.
