SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Despite sophomore Audrey Ellis' two goals in the first five minutes of play, St. Francis could not keep pace with Del Oro, falling by a 12-3 final in the varsity girls' portion of a Sierra Foothill League water polo quadrupleheader at Jesuit High Wednesday night.

The Troubadours slip to 3-9 for the season with a 1-3 league mark. The Golden Eagles move to 5-8 overall and pick up their first SFL win at 1-3.

Ellis converted a Kendal Douglas assist just 63 seconds into the game to put SF on the board, then buried a second perimeter shot off an Emma Dietrich pass at the 2:59 mark, tying the contest at 2-2. However, DO senior Reese Gage drew an exclusion with 1:32 left in the third, then made her own 6-on-5 goal to reclaim the lead.  

 
The Gage power play started a run of nine unanswered for Del Oro, which held an 8-2 lead at halftime and a 12-2 advantage by the midpoint of the third quarter. Douglas tacked on a third Troubie goal with 1:50 remaining in the third, with freshman Gia Navarrete finding her down low.

Besides her goal and assist, Douglas also drew four exclusions, including back-to-back in the third that resulted in a brief 6-on-4 opportunity. Ellis also matched junior Maya Wenceslao with five steals each. Troubie sophomore Sasha Michon guarded the cage for seven saves, including one on a five-meter penalty shot.

St. Francis junior varsity lost to the Golden Eagles, 15-5, in a match with a similar trajectory of the subsequent varsity tilt: a strong start followed by nine straight DO goals, with a second half surge. Kathryn Topp and Molly Suggs each scored two goals, with Gabriella Philip accounting for the fifth.

Sophomore Georgi Williams enjoyed a strong fourth quarter, posting two steals plus assists to Suggs, Philip and Topp in the last two minutes of the match.

The Troubie varsity returns to action on Friday and Saturday for Granite Bay's Grizzly Classic tournament. St. Francis will play at the American River College site, opening against Cardinal Newman at 2 p.m. followed by a matchup with El Camino at 6 p.m. The Troubies then relocate to Oak Ridge's home pool at the El Dorado Hills CSD offices on Saturday for games against Christian Brothers (9 a.m.) and Ponderosa (noon).