LOOMIS, Calif. – Senior midfielder Keira Miles scored four goals in her hometown while fellow midfielder Jade Abalateo netted another two, but St. Francis fell to Del Oro in the varsity nightcap of a Sierra Foothill League girls' lacrosse doubleheader at Golden Eagle Stadium Tuesday night.
The Troubadours slip to 5-2 for the year with a 4-2 record in league games. The Golden Eagles, the runaway No. 1 team in MaxPreps' Sac-Joaquin Section rankings, remain undefeated at 7-0 with a 5-0 SFL mark.
Miles scored all four of her goals from the eight-meter arc, completing her hat trick by the 10:07 mark in the second quarter, then adding her fourth and final tally in the 28th overall minute. Abalateo also converted from eight meters, then finished a counterattack goal after Cali Chambers blocked a pass and scooped up her own ground ball midway through the third.
However, St. Francis surrendered a 5-1 start to the game, halved the deficit to 5-3 by the 1:32 mark in the first, then gave up seven of the next eight goals across the next seven minutes to fall back into a 12-4 hole. DO junior Ellie Rivera scored back-to-back to complete her double hat trick by 6:48 in the third to make it a nine-goal advantage of 14-5. After Abalateo's second goal adjusted the scoreboard to 14-6, Golden Eagle freshman Livy Carlile came off the bench for a pair of eight-meter scores, the second of which invoked the running clock with 6:44 left in the fourth.
The varsity loss followed a 17-2 win for Del Oro's junior varsity, also undefeated for the year. Junior Millie Katzeff scored an eight-meter goal and assisted Bonnie Cohen for the other Troubadour score.
Tuesday's doubleheader briefly rescheduled to Sierra College due to maintenance at DO's home stadium that was set to begin on Monday. This introduced further complications, as the Wolverines' Ostrom Stadium is not marked for lacrosse. Fortunately, the work at Golden Eagle Stadium got delayed, and the game could take place on the DO campus after all.
St. Francis returns home to Mather Sports Complex for an SFL doubleheader against Oak Ridge on Thursday. First draws are the usual 5:30 (JV) and 7:15 p.m. (varsity).
